


It's Alright, Come Inside, And Talk To Me

by Morningstar_Winchester



Series: D A D V I D  A N D  G W E N M O M  H E A V E N [1]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Also yeah Jasper's alive, And Gwenmom, Because it will get pretty intense, Child Abuse, Completed, Damion's the worst, First of all welcome to Dadvid heaven, Gen, Hi hi hi, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self Harm, Second of all Ryan is an abusive prick and Alex is just awful, Seriously guys I have plans for this and you're going to love how it turns out, Seriously only read this if you think you can handle it, Trigger Warnings, Underage Drug Use, With Dadvid, but it'll have a happy ending, second of all, so enjoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-06-30 05:12:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 54,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15744984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morningstar_Winchester/pseuds/Morningstar_Winchester
Summary: Max isn't sure how, why, or when, but his whole life had completely turned around in just a day. Which is terrifying in itself. It certainly doesn't help that his new Uncle is the center of this particular problem - But, then again, David usually is.





	1. You Don't Have To Be A Hero To Save The World

Max was a pessimist.

Was that not obvious? Max was sure he made it obvious. His brooding, angry personality, pissed at the world and everything and everyone in it. Always seeking out the worst in any situation, the worst in anyone, pretty much trying to bring the bad stuff out. Max would rather have bad stuff than good stuff. That probably sounded… Extremely strange, and a little concerning, but the eleven year old didn't like any sugarcoating. He just liked to cut straight to the chase. Get the bad shit over with so he could curl up and go back to being pessimistic and angry and negative, because that's who he was, and he was content with who he was. The point was, Max didn't see the good in anything. And he certainly didn't try to.

So when Sarah poked her head into the room, gave him one of her bright, beaming smiles and asked: "Do you wanna go meet your Uncle?" Max was less than pleased.

There was no fucking way he was going to go meet his mother's brother. He didn't have a good track record with Uncles. Alex gave him enough shit. What if this Uncle was like him? What if he hurt him? Yeah, no way in  _hell_ was Max going to do this!

"Your Dad's busy so he can't watch you while I go. But! You can stay with Alex while-"

Famous last words.

Max was out of his bed in an instant, grabbing a shirt and a pair of shorts. His mother cut off, watching him curiously as the kid grabbed the stuff he might need, including his hoodie, making sure he had a tape recorder in the pocket. Just in case. "I'll meet you outside in two minutes," the kid mumbled, moving past Sarah and rushing into the bathroom, pretty much slamming the door shut behind him. He heard her squeal in excitement, the kid grinding his teeth together as her footsteps faded down the hall.

Scratch that idea. Max wasn't going to stay with Alex for god knows how long. He'd rather suffer through his mother's cheerful attitude and another family member that would hate him than be stuck with Alex. Or maybe the devil he knew was better? Whatever, it didn't matter. The kid threw the clothes down and grabbed the bandages wrapped around his arm, tugging them off silently. His mint green eyes grazed over the scars for a second. There were no recent ones, and honestly the kid was proud of himself for it. Usually by now he would have been cutting again.

But he hadn't. No fresh scars. The knife hadn't been picked up for months now, and summer was already rolling around again. He still bandaged his arms, though, ensuring the scars that were there couldn't be seen. Which is what he was doing now, idly changing the bandages and getting dressed. As promised, he was out within two minutes, trudging to the car and getting into the passenger's seat, shutting the door. He didn't bother to buckle himself in, turning away to look out the window.

"Are you excited?" Sarah giggled softly at her son, starting the car and blinking at Max. "Buckle up, kiddo." She chided. Max let out a low grumble but he did as told. His mother wasn't too bad. Max could tolerate her about as much as he could tolerate David, so it was all good. "You're going to  _love_ your Uncle. He's great!"

"Mhm." Max muttered absently, glaring out the window as they started to drive. Again, Alex was the only Uncle that Max knew. And he wasn't exactly Uncle of the year, or whatever. So Max wasn't looking forward to meeting another one, because he highly doubted that this one was going to like him at all.

"Please be nice, alright?" Sarah sighed. Max didn't respond, rolling his head toward her. Sarah was one of the few adults he didn't talk back to. He didn't talk back to Ryan, and he didn't talk back to Alex. Granted, mostly because his father and uncle terrified him to no end. And the last time Max had talked back to Sarah, Ryan had ensured it  _didn't_ happen again. Because apparently nobody could be mean to Ryan's girl except Ryan himself. "Really, Maxwell. I expect you to be on your best behavior," she reached out with a smile, patting Max's curls down gently. "Okay?"

"Okay." Max muttered, once more turning to look out the window. He didn't really plan on acting out anyway. While acting nice and all didn't really get you anywhere, he'd also learned that being mean didn't quite turn the odds in his favor. So he'd act neutral. Don't do anything to provoke. Maybe he'd get by.

"Thank you," Sarah said softly, putting her hands back on the wheel and turning ahead as he drove. Max just hummed faintly, resting his head against the window and glancing out briefly. His gaze rested on Kyle's house as they drove past, a small smile curling at his lips for a moment. He definitely had to visit his best friend later. Rant to him about whatever was about to happen on this meeting.

Sarah didn't really talk about her brother. Or her family, for that matter. Max didn't mind it - He had enough angry family members at his throat. The less, the better. Sarah had apparently lost track with her brother a while back. Must have just gotten into contact with him again, though. Max couldn't decide whether he cared or not. On one hand, he just wanted to get it over with. On the other, he was… Curious. And he absolutely  _hated_ himself for it.

"He's really a good man," Sarah spoke up again after a few moments. Max bit back a groan, glaring out the window. "I know you're scared, but he's not like Alex or your father. I promise you, my brother's amazing. You'll love him - and he'll adore you, kiddo, trust me on this! It'll be just fine, I swear."

"Okay," Max muttered again, not really feeling soothed. He had nothing against his mother, but he knew how oblivious and naive Sarah was. Maybe whoever the fuck this was was nice to Sarah, but Max had only met one adult that was nice to him besides his mother so far. He had absolutely no doubt this was just going to be one of the many people that hated and wanted to torture him. One of the many people playing the "game". And honestly? He was surprised by how much he didn't care. After all, it was just one more person. One more person to hurt him. If Max wasn't numb to pain by now, he probably would give more of a shit than he did. But he couldn't bring himself to.

He fell silent as Sarah went on and on about different things, mainly her brother. Max wasn't really paying attention, simply zoning out and drowning her out with his thoughts, closing his eyes. It was only when the car stopped that he opened his eyes again, forcing himself to focus and look up. The kid's mint green eyes focused on the house they'd pulled up to, wary gaze scanning the place as his mother got out the car.

"Come on!" Sarah giggled, already bouncing up to knock on the door. Max exhaled slowly and got out, taking a few moments to calm himself. Okay, maybe he'd given more of a shit than he previously thought. Whatever. It didn't matter, and he just wanted to get it over with. The kid reluctantly trudged after his mother, keeping his gaze low.

_Don't act up._

_Don't act out._

_Don't be rude._

_Don't make eye contact._

_Only speak when spoken to._

Easy enough to remember, all things he'd drilled into his head from meeting others. The kid lowered his gaze but kept his head up, biting his lip and pausing beside his mother as he waited for the door to open. And, open it did almost instantly. Max tensed faintly, but he kept his gaze on the ground, completely refusing to look up.

"David!"

"Sarah!"

_Fuck_ the rules!

Max's head snapped up, his mint green eyes flashing up in shock. That voice was all too familiar, and  _David_? And sure enough, his camp counselor stood there, green eyes bright as he pulled Sarah into a hug. Max's mouth felt suddenly completely dry, unable to process the newly given information. In retrospect, perhaps he shouldn't have been so stunned by the turn of events. David was practically Sarah, but a dude.

Now on one hand, Max was… About fifty percent certain David wouldn't hurt him. After everything he'd put the camp counselor through, he still hadn't. That brought the kid  _some_ comfort at least. The boy took a deep breath and shifted slightly, eyeing David carefully. Still. His  _Uncle_. David was his  _Uncle now._ The thought made Max grimace.

_Alright, just act like you would if he was any other complete stranger otherwise this is going to go straight back to Ryan and you are going to have a HORRIBLE time, Maxwell._ Easy enough. The kid shrugged his shoulders and stuffed his hands into his pockets as Sarah pulled back, giggling and reaching up to brush David's hair from his face.

"You got taller," his mother exclaimed, squeezing David's shoulder gently. "Ooh, that's amazing, David! Oh!" She paused and glanced back at Max, stepping aside slightly. "David, I'd like you to meet my son, Maxwell!" She beamed at Max, who gave a half-assed smile back before locking his gaze on David. The camp counselor blinked at him, wide-eyed with pure confusion and shock for a moment before a look of pure, utter delight shot across his face.

And in the next instant, David had launched forward and was pulling the kid up into a hug, squealing delightedly as he spun Max around. "Max!" He cheered. Max inhaled sharply, twisting a bit and shoving his hands against David's shoulders in an attempt to free himself.

Again, fuck the rules. "Let me go, asshole!"

" _Maxwell!_ " His mother practically shrieked, horrified. David just laughed, giving the child one last squeeze before setting him down and ruffling his hair. Max flinched away faintly, the action reminding him too much of Alex. And with David as his Uncle now - The thought still made him snort - He was much more… Wary about it. About  _him_. Which he absolutely hated, he didn't want to be scared of David. That was just fucking ridiculous.

"Sorry, kiddo," David chirped as Max fixed his hair. "It's just so great to see you again! Wow, who would've thought, you're- You're my nephew, wow," his eyes widened slightly, gazing down at Max in shock. Max just glowered at him slightly.

"Yeah, that's a big shocker with my luck, camp man," Max snarked, shaking his head and fixing what he could of his mess of curls before dropping his hands, shoving them back into his pockets.

"You two already know each other! Eeeeeeeeee that's so great!" Sarah exclaimed, bouncing up and down and clapping her hands together with a delighted squeal. Max eyed her for a moment, nose wrinkling slightly. Yeah, it really shouldn't have shocked him so much that those two were related, now that he was actually thinking about it. He really should have put the pieces together sooner.

"Yep! Max is my absolute favorite camper at Camp Campbell!" David exclaimed, winking at Max briefly. Max didn't say anything, narrowing his eyes at David briefly. Admittedly, he was feeling a little bit better about the situation now that he knew it was just David. But at the same time, he was slightly nervous. As to how this whole thing would play out. What if David wasn't the guy he'd thought he was? What if he was just completely different outside of camp? What if Max was about to see another side of him? What if he was like Alex? What if it was all a trick? What if he did want to hurt him? Just like every other adult he'd ever met? What then?

"Oh, come on inside!" David giggled, and Max bit back another snarky comment for his mother's sake as he followed Sarah inside, glancing back as David shut the door behind him. "We have so much to catch up on! Max," he turned to the kid, smiling brightly. "Are you hungry?"

Max stared blankly at him for a moment. "No." He mumbled. But the question had his thoughts steering toward food. He honestly rarely ate - The only time he ever got good meals was at Camp Campbell, and even that wasn't… "Good". Max was honestly so used to not eating that it felt weird  _to_ eat. So weird that he didn't eat unless he absolutely had to to stop himself from dying of starvation.

Unfortunately, thoughts of food had his body's instinctive reaction kicking in, and his stomach let out a low growl. The sound made the kid wince, his hands curling into fists and his shoulders hunching up slightly as he glared at the floor.

"Pfft, sounds like you're hungry to me," David smiled, once more ruffling the kid's hair. Max just grumbled slightly, shrugging him away and giving him an annoyed look. "Don't worry, kiddo. I got plenty here! How about pizza?" He grinned at the eleven year old. Max just snorted slightly and sighed, looking away for a moment.

"Yeah, whatever. Okay."

"Awesome!" David cheered, sounding so excited that Max honestly thought he was about to hug him again. But all David did was ruffle his hair again - Max was honestly thinking of punching him at this point, but he refrained - And head down the hall to the kitchen. Sarah giggled, kneeling down in front of Max and reaching out to fix his hair.

"See?" She smiled at him, green eyes sparkling warmly. "You've got nothing to worry about, kiddo. My brother's the best."

"We'll see." Max mumbled, shrugging her off and heading after David with a frown.  _Yeah, he's alright for now, but we'll see, Mom._ His eyes narrowed slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets and glaring after David.  _And I've got my eyes on you,_ _ **Uncle**_   _David._


	2. It Doesn't Make You A Narcissist To Love Yourself

Max sighed as he sat down at the table, crossing his arms slightly and sinking down into the chair. His gaze focused on David for a moment, watching the camp counselor pull a frozen pizza out of a box to put in the oven. His Uncle. He'd really have to get used to thinking of David as his  _Uncle._ Of all the people, David- David was Sarah's brother. Sarah and Alex's brother, no less. The kid blinked, shifting slightly and pulling his legs up to cross them in the chair, leaning forward and balancing his elbows on the table, chin on his hands. Alex and David. Related. Why was that so hard to imagine? Alex, despite all the bad shit he did, kept a bright, cheerful attitude. If Max didn't know what he was really like underneath that mask, he probably would never guess that Alex was capable of anything other than being completely  _fucking annoying._

The boy grimaced slightly, arms falling to lay flat and his chin resting against the backs of his hands, eyeing David. He wasn't one of the people Max would expect to be bad. Sure, the kid had been terrified of him before - His cheerful attitude reminded him way too much of Alex. And he was always wondering if he had any hidden motives. But so much time had passed, and David hadn't even made  _one_ attempt to hurt Max so far. Either this was just the most drawn-out plan ever, or… David really  _did_ give a shit.

And unfortunately for Max, he wasn't sure what was more likely. It was David.  _David._ Could he imagine David hurting him?

...Yeah, actually, he could. It was one of the many things that plagued his nightmares. One of the thoughts that had his heart sinking. Because even if he wouldn't admit it to himself, he trusted David. He liked David. The man was the closest thing he'd ever had to a fucking  _father_ , and if David, of all the people in the world, if  _David_ hurt him? Max was positive he'd break down. That would be the one thing to crush the kid completely, and he didn't want to know what it would feel like. He didn't want to know what would happen if he broke completely.

Max bit back a sigh and shut his eyes for a few moments. He'd zoned out, drowning out his mother and…  _Uncle_ talking, but their voices steadily became clearer as he tried to force his thoughts away, needing something else to focus on.

"So you're a camp counselor?"

"Yep! I work at Camp Campbell with Gwen!"

"Oh, Gwen, she was such a lovely girl… Are you two still together?"

David and Max choked on air simultaneously. Max's head shot up, eyes flying open and his head whirling around to stare at the two in shock. David stood kind of frozen, eyes wide and his mouth open slightly. Sarah just blinked at her brother, her wide green eyes flickering innocently as her head tilted to the side. It was completely silent for the longest time, Max staring at David, and Sarah and David staring at each other.

" _You and Gwen were a thing?!_ " Max eventually exclaimed, completely forgetting the "only speak when spoken to" rule. He straightened up a little in his seat, watching David's pale face flush slightly and turn a very light shade of pink, the camp counselor's head shaking side to side desperately.

"Uh- Yes- Yes, we were, but- No, we-" David cut off, taking a deep breath and shaking his head again. Max bit down on his tongue to keep himself from laughing, kind of enjoying seeing him so flustered. Over  _Gwen._ Wow, today was just filled with surprises, wasn't it? "We're- We broke up!" He exclaimed eventually, clearing his throat and taking in another deep breath. Max finally let out a few laughs, covering his face with his hands for a moment.

"Oh, that's a shame," Sarah blinked, completely oblivious to pretty much the whole situation in a way that reminded Max of David. No wonder they were related. Sarah cleared her throat and started to say something, only to pause when her phone started to ring. Max's gaze went to her instantly, his smirk falling just as fast as Sarah's smile faded.

David's gaze flickered between the two silently for a moment, confusion darkening his expression. "...Everything alright?"

"Yes!" Sarah said quickly, taking a few steps back. "Yes, David, everything's fine. It's just Ryan, I'll be right outside," she assured, not waiting for a response as she turned on her heel and rushed out of the house. Max sank down slightly into his seat at the mention of his father, his gaze trailing after Sarah in silence.

"Ryan." David's voice went surprisingly cold for a few seconds, concern lacing his words as he watched Sarah go. "She's still with him?"

"Yep." Max mumbled, turning back to him and narrowing his eyes as he met David's gaze. Left alone. The thought, somehow, made Max's stomach twist rather violently. His mother would probably be on the phone for quite some time - She and Ryan had long conversations. Leaving David and Max alone in the house.

...And on the other hand? Max had to be careful to separate David the camp counselor from David his Uncle. Which was, apparently, what he was now. The kid blinked and dropped his gaze for a second, eyes hardening slightly. He wished he wasn't so scared. He wished he wasn't so  _scared_ of  _David_ , of all people. Because… It was David. If Max couldn't trust him, who the fuck  _could_ he trust?

"You're awfully quiet," David blinked, walking over. He pulled a chair out, settling down slightly and leaning forward, clasping his hands together over the table as he looked down at Max. The eleven year old narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing up at him and quirking an eyebrow silently. "Yeah, you're not usually this silent. Everything okay, kiddo?"

"Peachy." Max gave a half-assed thumbs up before dropping his arms again, leaning back in the chair and shoving his hands down into his pockets. He considered pressing play on the tape recorder, but he held off. He wanted to actually use it when it'd be useful. The eleven year old focused on David for a moment, clicking his teeth together silently for a few seconds. Then he sighed, pulling his hands back out of his pockets and leaning forward once more, crossing his arms over the table. "So, you know my Dad."

David's eyes flashed briefly with annoyance, an emotion Max wasn't quite used to seeing on his face. "Yeah, I do." He snorted, sitting back and shrugging. "He was a real jerk back when I knew him, though. I'm surprised Sarah's still with him. He must have changed, I guess."

Max bit back the scoff before it could leave his lips, choking it back down and focusing on the table with a small scowl. As much as he would love to tell David that "jerk" was an understatement when it came to Ryan, the last time he'd tried to tell any adult about any of the shit he went through at home, it had had major consequences. Nobody believed him anyway, so what was the point? The kid shook his head and forced himself to focus, glancing back at David.

David who was staring at him in more concern than usual.

Great.

Max let out a low sigh and pulled back slightly, leaning back against the chair and narrowing his eyes at David for a moment. "Okay, I just can't get over the fact that you're my  _Uncle_ for god's sake." He grumbled after a few moments. David laughed a bit despite himself, shrugging slightly and smiling at the kid.

"Yeah, I know. What a crazy coincidence, huh?" David pushed his chair back a bit and stood up. The sudden movement made Max flinch faintly despite himself, pushing himself back to sit back completely, pressing himself against the back of the chair. It wasn't hard to see that he was on edge, and it didn't go unnoticed by David, who blinked. "Jumpy today, too. Are you feeling okay, Max?" He asked in concern, walking over to the oven to check on the pizza.

"I'm  _fine_." Max nearly snapped, pissed off at himself for being so scared of the camp counselor. He shook his head slightly, eyeing his Uncle warily for a moment before turning away again to look around the kitchen, grumbling slightly. He really needed to calm down. If David hadn't hurt him yet, he wasn't going to, right?

Was he willing to take that chance? Not really. But if it was going to happen, it was going to happen.

"Ooookay," David blinked, setting a plate down in front of him with two slices of pizza on it and settling down with his own plate. Max blinked, focusing on the food silently for a while. Normally he'd have to sneak a sandwich, two if he was hungry enough. Now he was being handed food. A lot of food. And he wasn't quite sure what to do with it all. Could he even  _eat_ that much? The kid frowned faintly when his stomach growled again, shaking his head and taking a deep breath before leaning forward again, reluctantly picking up one of the slices and taking a small bite. And after that, it was pretty much over; The kid dug in as fast as he could.

"Don't choke," David warned him, blinking slightly as he took a bite of his own pizza, watching the kid with wide eyes. "Seriously kiddo, the food's not going anywhere, take your time or you'll get a stomach ache," he shook his head slightly. Max grimaced, but he did slow down a bit, albeit reluctantly. "Yikes, you act like you haven't eaten for a week," David shook his head again.

 _You have no idea._ Max thought, shaking his head. He finished off one slice and paused for a few seconds, staring down at the other for a moment. He was still hungry, but his stomach wasn't growling anymore, and he only ate what he needed. So he sat back and pushed the plate away, ignoring David's surprised look. "M'full." Max mumbled defensively. David frowned but accepted the answer, nodding and finishing off his own pizza.

"She's been outside for a while." The man sighed, pushing his plate away and leaning forward slightly, propping his head up in his hands.

"I know," Max mumbled, instinctively reaching forward and grabbing David's empty plate and his own, scooting them towards him. "It's fine, they talk for a while anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if she was out there on the phone for an hour." He sighed, easing himself off the chair and reaching up for the plates, only to recoil when David's hand went over his own.

"You don't gotta do that, kiddo," David chuckled, lightly ruffling Max's hair and grabbing the plates. "And yeah, that's Sarah for you. She could talk on the phone for hours on end." He commented, putting the empty plate in the sink and grabbing a small container to put the rest of the pizza in to put in the fridge. Max blinked, standing back silently as he watched. He hated himself for feeling so confused about the situation. David wasn't Alex, or his father. When was he going to  _realize_ that? How long was it going to take?

"Well, Dad's busy, so hopefully it won't last  _hours_." Max mumbled, looking toward the doorway for a moment. He heard David hum softly in agreement, and there was silence for a moment besides the running of water as David washed off the plates. Max shifted his weight from one foot to the other, biting down on his lip. Sometimes he honestly wished it was all just an act. And he wished David would just cut it out. He wished it would just be over with. It would be so much easier if David just got straight to the point.

The kid sighed and looked down for a second, twisting his hands into his sleeves and narrowing his eyes slightly as he stared down for a second. He only looked up when he felt a hand touch his shoulder, flinching faintly and jerking away with a sharp inhale. David blinked, his hand hovering for a second before he dropped it again. "You really are jumpy today," he mumbled with a frown, clearing his throat. "Come on, kiddo. Why don't we go watch some TV while we wait for your mom to come back?"

Max sighed, shaking his head faintly and grimacing slightly. And other times, he hoped David never changed. Because if he couldn't rely on anything or anyone else, the camp counselor was one of the few things he could. One of the few people he actually trusted in this fucked up world. Not that he'd ever admit it. "Okay."

* * *

 

Max wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep, what time during the TV show he'd dozed off. He just knew that when he woke up, the TV was still on, screen flickering and casting colorful lights over the dark room. The volume was so low he could hardly hear it. The eleven year old frowned, shifting slightly and looking around blurrily for a moment. He had a blanket thrown over him and a pillow under his head. And he was still on David's couch. Which was weird, shouldn't they have been home by now? The kid pushed himself to sit up, rubbing his eyes and trying to focus. But his brain never functioned right when he first woke up.

The boy sighed and slid off of the couch, trying to be as quiet as possible. His mother was curled up on the small armchair, fast asleep and snoring as she usually did. Max watched her for a moment, frowning faintly before turning to head for the kitchen. There had been a clock in there, right? He really needed to check the time. He wandered into the room, running his fingers through his hair and looking around. The kitchen was just as dark, but the numbers on the stove flashed right at him. 12:30.

Past midnight. Max always had to be home before midnight, no matter what he was doing, where he was. The beatings stopped at midnight, every day, no matter how early or how late they started. It was the fucked up schedule Max had gotten used to. He'd gotten used to crawling into bed by 12:00, in pain and terrified.

He wasn't in pain, but he didn't know about the terrified part.

He  _did_ know he really wished he'd brought Mr. Honeynuts with him. The kid sighed and moved out of the room, but he didn't go back to the living room, silently slipping down the hall to find the bathroom. He hadn't brought any bandages with him, either. In his defense though, he hadn't exactly known he'd be staying the night. Which begged the question - Why  _was_ he staying the night? Why were he and Sarah still  _here_?

He paused at one room, the door open and some light spilling out into the hallway. The kid peered in hesitantly, blinking. It was some kind of office. The room had a few bookshelves, and a desk near one of the corners with a small lamp and some papers piled up on it. David sat at the desk, leaning over and going through some of said papers. Max blinked, watching for a moment before taking a deep breath and turning to leave.

But he saw David look up almost instantly, and winced sharply. Shit. It was the middle of the night, his mom was pretty much  _dead_ when she was asleep, and he was up alone with the camp man, who now knew he was awake. The kid sighed, looking down for a few seconds before eventually accepting his defeat and turning back to David, who had slid his chair back and was now walking over to him, the man kneeling down in front of him with a soft smile. "Are you always up this late, kiddo?"

"...Been up later." Max muttered honestly, shifting slightly to lean away on instinct. He'd just woken up. He didn't care if it was  _David_ at the moment - Whatever logic and common sense he'd had was overruled with fear. He'd been caught awake before, awake when he wasn't  _supposed to be awake_ , and it hadn't had favorable consequences at all. "Just woke up."

David nodded in understanding, his soft smile not fading. "Weird schedule for an eleven year old." He murmured. Max tried not to laugh, rubbing his eyes again with a frown. Yeah, David had absolutely no idea about his "weird schedule" at all. "That's alright, though. My schedule's not so great either, kiddo."

Max just blinked at him. Honestly, he was just waiting for it. For the yelling, the hitting, anything. But David just stared back at him with that same calm, gentle smile on his face, the smile that frustrated the kid to no end. Now? Now Max honestly welcomed it. That wasn't to say it didn't terrify him, though. "S'only midnight," he muttered, glancing over David's shoulder briefly.

"I know," David chuckled, reaching out and brushing the kid's hair from his face. Max flinched faintly; Which, again, didn't go unnoticed by David, who merely took a deep breath and shook his head, standing up silently and turning the light on. Max squinted slightly against it, wincing. "Well, I'm just going through some papers right now. Did you need something?" Max just shook his head, watching him silently for a few moments.

"Why're we still here?" Max asked after a few moments, exhaling slowly as David turned and headed back to his desk. The kid stood silently for a moment before reluctantly following, climbing up into one of the chairs in the room and sinking back with a sigh.

David went quiet for a few moments, which honestly only made Max's anxiety grow. The kid stared up at him as the counselor pulled himself up to sit on the edge of his desk, swinging his legs back and forth silently for a moment. After a second, though, David sighed and ran a hand through his hair, giving the kid a tired smile. "It's… Hard to explain, Max. But you and your mother are going to be staying with me for…. A little while."

Max blinked in surprise at that, opening his mouth slightly only to snap it shut again, staring at David blankly. He was honestly too tired to process what that might mean. Why would they be staying with David? Ryan most certainly couldn't approve of that… The eleven year old narrowed his eyes slightly and sank back further, staring at David in silence for a moment, studying his expression for a moment. Concern, sympathy, regret - That's what he saw there.

And then it just kind of clicked. Max blinked once and his eyes widened, taking in a slow, shaky breath and letting it out softly. "Oh." He mumbled, curling his legs up into the chair and dropping his gaze. " _Oh._ " He wanted to ask - He wanted to ask if David knew, if Sarah had told him. But on the off chance that David still knew absolutely nothing about the situation they were in, he didn't want to be the one to tell him. He didn't want to get in trouble for it if Ryan found out. Or worse, if  _Alex_ found out. He was the one most obsessed with keeping the… "Game" a secret.

"Max," David's voice was quiet; Another wave of anxiety hit the eleven year old, taking his breath away for a moment. "Hey, it's okay. You won't have to go back there, okay? It's okay."

Max choked out a bitter laugh, shaking his head and pressing his hands into his eyes for a few seconds. David had only concerned what Max had been sure of before. And it felt… Weird. Having David know. Although, he probably didn't know everything. Hell, he probably didn't even know the half of it. After a minute or so of silence, Max took a shaky breath and looked up, wary eyes focusing on his… Uncle. God, that was still a weird thought.

"David, don't rope yourself into this."

David blinked, a look of faint surprise flickering across his face. He shook his head and leaned forward, crossing his arms over his lap and fixing the kid with that same stupid, concerned look. "I've gotta try to do something, kiddo," he murmured. "You can't possibly want to go back to that."

"I don't. God, I don't. Ryan's a fucking abusive asshole, and I hate him and I don't want to go back to him." Max mumbled bluntly. "But it doesn't matter, because I will anyway. Alex will pull some strings or whatever." He gestured a hand vaguely. "Do whatever weird shit he does with whatever weird ties he has, and me and Mom will just be in the same fucked-up situation we were before and Dad will be pissed that we even tried to get out of it in the first place." His breathing hitched for a moment, the thought of his father being pissed off at all causing the kid's features to darken in faint fear for a second.

" _Alex_?"

Max chuckled despite himself at David's confused and slightly horrified expression, then flinched slightly when he realized he'd just completely sold his Uncle out. "Ah." He mumbled, sinking back again. "And now he's going to be pissed, too." He looked down for a moment, wringing his hands together. "David, please. Don't get involved. It's just going to put more shit on all our plates, and," he went silent for a second. "And I  _can't_. I can't take any more than I've got."

There was a long silence as the two thought for a moment. Max didn't look up, but he could feel David's gaze fixed on him, contemplating, considering. Then the man silently pulled himself off the desk, easily rising to his feet and walking over to the kid. Max bit his lip silently, ducking his head a little bit and taking in a sharp, shaky breath, bracing himself for whatever the fuck was about to happen because he knew  _something_ was about to happen.

David just sighed, crouching down in front of him. He took the kid's hands in his own, and tugged gently. "Max, can you look at me?"

Max shook his head, keeping his burning gaze fixed on the floor. He didn't want to look up. Because if he did, he'd be met with that stupid, concerned expression and those stupid, sympathetic eyes. And he was already at his limit right now, he didn't need this shit. David tugged again, leaning forward a little bit.

"Please?"

Max gritted his teeth silently for a moment before shaking his head again. This time, thought, he glanced up, his wary mint green eyes finally focusing on David's forest green ones. The man smiled in relief before his expression turned serious again.

"I know that you're scared of what your dad might do if he finds out," David started, studying the kid's face for a moment. Max hesitated, his gaze flickering away for a moment as his teeth clenched together. He didn't like being scared and he most certainly didn't like when it was obvious that he was, but he didn't deny the statement, waiting for David for continue. "But I promise you it's gonna be okay. You won't have to worry about him,  _or_ Alex for much longer. And if I have it my way, you won't have to see their faces again after this."

Max didn't say anything for a few moments, his gaze flickering warily as he studied David for a second. "And if it doesn't go your way?" He prompted. "If this whole thing completely fucking  _backfires_? Do you have any idea how much trouble Mom would be in for even telling you… Whatever the fuck you know?" His eyes hardened, looking away. "You probably don't even know that much, too. Just drop it while you can. It's  _fine_."

"Max." David gritted his teeth slightly. "The situation you and your mother in is not  _fine._ " He went silent for a moment. "Does he hit you? Your dad?" Max went silent, his gaze flickering around the room silently. David shook his head and gently tugged on his hands again. "Max. He's not here. He can't hurt you. It's  _okay_. You can talk to me."

Max gritted his teeth silently, dropping his gaze for a moment. Eventually, he took a shaky breath and nodded. "Yeah. He does. Every fucking day. Okay?"

"Does he hit your mother?"

"Sometimes."

"And Alex?" David asked carefully, gazing at him. "Does Alex hit you?" Max shook his head slightly, clenching his teeth and swallowing down the lump rising in his throat.

"No." Why was David even pushing this? Why did he even care what happened to him? And why was Max answering this? Why couldn't he fucking stop? "No. Alex does worse." He paused and shook his head.

"Worse?" David blinked, now sounding even more concerned. Max glanced up briefly before looking away again. It didn't take too long for David to put the pieces together, luckily enough. He didn't have to explain. And honestly he probably wouldn't have anyway. "Oh.  _Oh._ Max…"

"It's  _fine_." Max took a deep breath, shaking his head slightly and trying to pull his hands away, but David's grip tightened. Not enough to hurt, just enough to keep him in place. "Just leave it alone, David. Please. This- This is just going to cause more trouble, it's just going to be more  _shit_ to deal with and I-" He cut off, his voice beginning to shake slightly as he sank back again, shaking his head desperately.

"No," David murmured after a few seconds, his voice dead quiet and completely serious. Max had only heard that tone from him once. "Max, Alex and Ryan are hurting you, and that's not fine at all. You don't deserve this, and neither does your mother. I'm not going to just drop this." He gritted his teeth slightly. "I promise you, I will go through  _hell_ and  _back_ to make sure those people don't lay another finger on you or Sarah again. And you better believe I'll be taking them down with me."

Max went silent for a moment, his staring down at his now trembling hands, still clasped firmly in David's. The kid sucked in a sharp, shaking breath and let it out slowly. "I have proof." He mumbled after a moment of silence, finally looking up to meet David's gaze.

"Proof?" David echoed, gazing at him in faint concern in confusion. "Of- Oh." He blinked. "Really?"

"At home, yeah." Max sighed. "Tape recorders do wonders." He mumbled, trying for his usually cocky-ass smirk, which came out a little on the shaky side. David, however, cracked a small grin, reaching out and ruffling the kid's hair. Max winced slightly and ducked his head a bit, but he didn't say anything.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." David told him, shaking his head slightly. And, as if to prove his point, he tugged the kid into a hug, his arms wrapping around Max protectively as he let himself fall back to sit on the floor. Max stiffened slightly, but for once he didn't try to fight, letting out a soft sigh and sinking down into David's arms, leaning into the embrace with a frown. "You're a smart kid, you know. How much proof do you have?"

"Five years worth," Max muttered, resting his head against David's shoulder and curling up slightly. Usually around this time at night at home, he'd be curled up with fresh bruises, snuggling his stuffed bear and trying desperately to fall asleep, feeling terrified in his own home. Now he sat in David's arms with his head buried halfway into the man's shoulder, fingers curled into his shirt and feeling safer than he had in a long, long time. "Been recording 'em since I was six."

"Wow." David inhaled slowly, letting the breath out softly. "Why didn't you go to someone, kiddo?"

"I tried." Max replied blankly. "It always ended badly." He went silent for the longest time, shaking his head slightly and shifting a little into a more comfortable position. "I realized a long time ago that I couldn't trust adults, David."

"You can trust me."

Max didn't say anything, pulling his head back a little to look up at him. Sincere, soft eyes met his, filled with nothing but concern and warmth. Max fell silent then, shifting a little to rest his head against David's chest. The words spun through his head silently, taking a few minutes to actually process them before he responded. "...Okay." He whispered, not knowing what else to say that wouldn't make this moment more sappy than it already was.

 _And is it bad,_ he thought, letting his eyes slip shut.  _That I believe that?_


	3. It Feels Like Nothing Is Easy, It'll Never Be

Max woke with a start, his eyes flying open and his breath catching in his throat. He inhaled sharply and held his breath for a few seconds, jerking his head up. He was curled up on David's lap, the two of them still in the office. David had moved to sit back against his desk and had just held the kid close as he fell asleep. The man's head was resting back, eyes shut and mouth opened slightly as he slept.  _Fuck, camp man, did you really sit here all night?_ Max thought with a frown, shrugging David's arms off of him and pulling away. David twitched and stirred a little bit, mumbling and shutting his mouth with a sigh, but he stayed asleep. Max exhaled softly and got up, brushing himself off and backing away from his Uncle.

For a while he just stared at David for a moment, recalling the events of last night. All he did was shake his head and turn away, shutting the light off and slipping out of the room. He hesitated a bit before heading down toward the living room. Sarah was gone, but Max paid no thought to that. She had to work early on Saturdays.  _Oh, shit, it's Saturday._ He thought, blinking and grabbing the blanket Sarah had left on the chair. Saturdays were good. His father and mother both worked, leaving Max alone. And when Max was alone, he went and got high with Kyle and the gang.

Shit, he couldn't do that now, could he? He wasn't at home, he was at David's. The eleven year old rubbed his eyes and clutched the blanket tightly as he headed back down the hall, dragging it along behind him silently as he went back to the office. He squinted at David for a moment before simply throwing the blanket over his head, making sure it covered him but also ensuring it didn't smother the man. Once he was satisfied with what he'd done, he turned and left the room again, heading back to the living room. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV off, setting the remote down on the stand before grabbing the empty coffee cup on the coffee table, and the empty plate from where Sarah had gotten coffee and breakfast before leaving for work, probably. Max, again, didn't think too much about it; He was used to it.

The kid simply went to the kitchen and put the cup and plate in the sink, frowning slightly for a second. The sink wasn't full, but there were a few dirty dishes. Probably from Sarah and David finishing off the rest of the pizza yesterday. Max decided to put that on the backburner for now; Dishes were the last thing he did anyway. So he turned and looked toward the coffee maker, relieved to see some coffee left inside the pot. He walked over and hit the button to warm it up a bit, then turned to look around. Nothing needed to be done in the living room. So, he'd go to the bathroom, check his bandages, then get to work on the chores. Trash. Laundry. Dishes. Then coffee.

_Simple enough._ Max decided, turning and heading down the hall to look for the bathroom. This was a new situation. If he was going to live here for however long like David had said, he'd need to get into a new routine. The sooner the better, right?

He eventually found the bathroom after a bit of searching, shutting the door quietly behind him and turning the light on. He shrugged out of his hoodie and hesitantly unwrapped the bandages, carefully inspecting his arm for a second. It was as if he expected new scars to show up out of nowhere, which was stupid, right? The scars were only noticeable when he did it himself. His father never left too visible bruises or marks on his arms or face since they were easier to see than the rest of him. But everything else was open to punching, kicking, or worse. The kid sighed and rolled the bandages up silently, working on the other arm. He'd have to put them back on later. He hated reusing the bandages, but he didn't have much of a choice in this case, because he'd left his at home.

He shrugged back into the hoodie easily, stuffing the bandages into the pockets and rolling his sleeves down. Once he finished up in the bathroom, he left, pulling the door shut behind him and heading back down the hall. First thing's first - Trash. So he got that over with quickly, pulling the trash bag out of the can and tying it up before dragging it outside, rolling it out beside the others before turning and heading back inside, ensuring the door was locked behind him. He then spent at least five minutes looking around for wherever the fuck David kept the unused trash bags, reminding himself he'd definitely have to get used to everything.

After finishing up with that, he decided on just skipping laundry since he didn't really know what needed to be done as far as that went. Which left him with just the dishes to do. The kid pulled one of the chairs out and pushed it up against the sink, climbing up and turning the water on before grabbing the dish sponge and one of the dirty plates, setting to work. He let his mind wander for a while as he usually liked to do while doing chores. It wasn't hard to imagine he was back at home as he worked; He was surprised that it helped him relax, the familiarity of it all. The kid grimaced as the water sloshed onto the sleeves of his hoodie, reluctantly dropping the dish sponge and plate and pulling back to yank his sleeves up slightly. Once he had that taken care of, he went back to work.

It was silent and comfortable for a while; Max focused on the sound of the running water, the soft squeaking as he rubbed the dish sponge against the dishes silently. He didn't hear the footsteps behind him; He didn't hear anything else until a familiar voice spoke up, laced with confusion and exhaustion.

"Max?"

And Max, who had forgotten that he  _wasn't_ alone in this house, jumped rather violently and dropped what he had in his hands. Luckily, the cup he'd been holding didn't shatter; Once he could breathe again, he picked it up again to look it over carefully before setting it back down in the sink, flicking some soap suds off of his hands and turning around, fixing David with a glare. "What?"

"What are you doing?" David sighed, shuffling over to him. Max scowled slightly as he reached out to turn the water off, grabbing a towel beside the sink and turning to the eleven year old with a frown. "You don't have to do the dishes, Max. Why are you even up so early?" He mumbled, pulling Max's arms toward him to dry them off.

Max blinked at him in confusion for a moment, shrugging slightly and trying to twist away. "I'm always up this early." He told him, glancing toward the clock for a moment. He wasn't sure how long he'd been up, but he usually either woke up at seven or earlier. It was 8:00. The boy sighed, letting his shoulders drop for a second.

Then he realized David had stopped rubbing his arms with the towel, but hadn't released him. The kid frowned slightly and turned back to him, ready to spit out some sarcastic comment, but the words died on his tongue. David's green gaze was fixed on his wrists, his expression one of confusion, fear and disbelief as his gaze tracked over the faded scars, and the not-so faded bruises from one of his father's rages that crossed down Max's arms. His eyes flickered, following one of the scars up Max's arm for a moment before his gaze returned to the others, his mouth snapping shut with a  _click_.

Max watched him warily, the nervous feeling that was twisting in his stomach seeming to worsen slightly. He wasn't sure why David cared, anyway. His father didn't care, Alex didn't care. Again. Max had to remind himself David wasn't them. Eventually, David just took a deep breath and brought his gaze back to the kid's. "Max…"

"They're not recent," Max insisted instantly, not wanting to give him time to lecture him or something. He took a deep breath, finally tugging his arms away and shaking his head slightly with a frown. "I stopped. A while ago. It's fine." He mumbled, turning away from him and back to the sink. He reached out and turned the water back on, grabbing the sponge to continue what he'd been doing, but David reached out and turned the water right back off, much to the kid's annoyance. "David."

"Exactly, I'm David. I'm not Ryan, and I'm not Alex, and  _you're_ just a kid who should not be worrying about dishes." David mumbled, suddenly pulling Max up into his arms. The kid let out a soft grunt of protest, wriggling slightly in an attempt to get away, but David just set him down on the floor and pushed the chair back into place at the table. "Are you hungry?"

Max frowned slightly, moving away from him and reaching up to the counter. He silently grabbed a clean cup, heading away and walking over to the coffee maker with a sigh. "I don't usually eat 'til twelve on Saturdays." He muttered, checking the time again briefly as he poured some of the coffee into the cup. David sighed again, obviously disapproving, but he didn't say anything about the coffee.

"Max, it's eight in the morning and you're a growing boy, you should eat something." David chided him, walking over to the fridge and pulling it open with a frown, glancing inside. Max watched him silently in faint confusion, eyebrows furrowing slightly. David just let out a low hum. "So, what do you want to eat, kiddo? I got bacon, cereal, eggs…" He paused. "I can make you some pancakes."

"Wow," Max sighed, walking over and climbing up into one of the chairs. He sank back with a sigh, taking a sip of the coffee and wrinkling his nose slightly. It was strong and bitter. Just the way he liked it. "Don't waste your food on me, camp man. If you want me to eat so badly, I'll eat a sandwich or something." He mumbled, taking another sip of the coffee and setting the cup down on the table with a sigh.

"That's not very filling, though," David blinked and turned back to him, pushing the fridge shut and frowning at the kid. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, kiddo." He hummed, rocking back and forth on his feet. "What do you eat at your house for breakfast?"

"Nothing."

David went still, confusion darkening his features briefly. He paused, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Max with a frown. "Nothing?" He mumbled, shaking his head slightly. "What do you mean nothing?"

Max shrugged, propping his head up on his hands with his elbows on the table. He looked down into the coffee cup with a frown, staring down at the black liquid blankly. "I told you, I don't eat 'til twelve on Saturdays. And that's only when I go to the store and get a poptart or something, or some snacks for the gang." He said vaguely. "Other than that, no, I don't eat breakfast. I really only eat when it starts to hurt."

David paused, slowly pulling out a chair and sinking down into it. He ran a hand down his face, taking a deep breath before leaning forward and clasping his hands together. Max studied him for a moment. He seemed less than pleased - Kind of angry, but he kept up a mostly calm mask. "Why not, Max?"

Max shook his head a little, lifting the cup up and taking another small sip. Normally he'd be chugging it by now, but that's when he didn't have anyone to talk to while drinking it. "The last time Dad caught me eating, I couldn't lay on my back for a month." He replied bluntly after a minute or so of silence. "And since I'm not a masochist, or at least, I'm half-sure I'm not, I only eat when I have to, to avoid anything like  _that_ happening again."

David nodded and dropped his gaze, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. Max didn't say anything else, sitting back again and gulping down some more coffee, ignoring the way it burned his tongue. He knew he probably shouldn't be so blunt about it, but David was asking. And since David knew the basics of it anyway, he didn't have to sugarcoat, he didn't have to keep it a secret. David wanted honesty? He'd get honesty. Max went silent, fiddling with the cup for a while and waiting for David to speak, wondering if this was too much for him, if David would get overwhelmed and just throw him to the curb or something.

"Okay." David took a deep breath and opened his eyes again; Max's gaze turned back to him as David leaned forward to meet his gaze, forest green eyes completely serious once more. "Okay. Well, kiddo," he took a deep breath. "You're not in that house anymore. Ryan's not here, and he can't hurt you. Nobody here is going to hurt you. Not me, not your mother. As long as you are staying here, Max,  _nobody_ is going to lay a finger on you. Especially not for eating. You are eleven years old, you are a child, and you need to eat. You need three full meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And maybe snacks in between, too. So I want you to forget  _everything_ you learned in that house, because things are going to be completely different for you from now on." David leaned back, satisfied. "So I'll ask again, what do you want for breakfast?"

Max blinked at him in complete silence for a moment, opening his mouth slightly only to snap it shut again, sitting back in the chair. He shook his head slightly in confusion, staring at David for the longest time before dropping his gaze quietly, running his thumb over the rim of the cup. He wasn't used to any of this. This went against everything he'd ever known for his entire  _life_ , everything he'd known for  _eleven fucking years_  and he absolutely did not know how to respond to any of it. Eventually, the kid took in a deep, shaky breath and shook his head again, forcing himself to speak. "Can… I have pancakes?"

"Of course," David chirped, his cheerful tone back. He leaped up instantly, ruffling Max's hair a bit as he passed the kid and got to work cooking. Max glanced after him, watching silently for a moment before lowering his head to the table, idly pushing the coffee cup around with his fingers. This was going to be… Difficult. Getting used to all of this. Not having to do chores, being able to eat… Jesus fucking Christ, what else was there? Did David want him to start acting like a kid, too? The eleven year old sighed and lifted his head, once more bringing the cup up to his lips and watching David set to work making the pancakes with a bright, cheery smile on his face.

Why the fuck did this all feel so wrong and confusing? It was  _David._ Had he really expected  _anything_ less from him? Max finished off the coffee easily and eased himself off the chair, walking over to the sink to rinse the cup out. He ignored the look David gave him, responding with a one-shouldered shrug. "What? I'm used to this shit, David. If you won't let me do anything else, at least let me be a good little guest and clean up after  _myself._ "

"Well, nothing's wrong with that, now," David chided. "You're very responsible, and that's a good thing. But." He shifted slightly on his feet as Max turned to him, eyebrows raised. "I'm just… I'm a little scared that you might be  _too_ responsible for your age, Max. You're only a child. Chores are fine and all, but you shouldn't have to do everything around the house yourself. You should enjoy your childhood."

Max shook his head slightly as David spoke, gritting his teeth faintly. Honestly, he wasn't sure why, but the words honestly annoyed him. His whole life. His whole life had been like this - Eleven  _fucking_ years. He'd gotten into a routine, a schedule, he had everything sorted out. He wasn't happy with it, no, but it was what he knew. He was comfortable with it, he was used to it, it was  _his life_. And now? Now that life was being ripped away from him. Now somebody was telling him he didn't have to  _live_ that life anymore, that he could be a  _child_ and be  _happy_ and all the things he never  _had_ been. It was like watching everything he'd ever known crumble in front of him.

And what did that leave, exactly? It left something Max had no experience with. It left something he wasn't used to. Terrified, lost, broken, angry. That's how he felt. Because after all this time, everything he'd ever known was being ripped at the seams and slowly picked apart, and it confused the  _fuck_ out of him.

"It's  _not_ that easy, David." Max finally huffed, turning back and turning the water back off. He gritted his teeth, grabbing the towel off the counter to dry his hands off with a scowl. "It's pretty damn hard to go against everything you've ever fucking known for eleven fucking years, so I'm sorry I can't snap my fingers and be the child I'm apparently "supposed to be" or whatever." He narrowed his eyes, tossing the towel back onto the counter. "But this is how it's always been for me, it's not like I fucking know anything else."

"Max-" David started, pausing for a second and turning away from the food. Max glanced up at him briefly, wondering if maybe he'd made the man mad, but David only looked confused and concerned. Max let out a frustrated groan and shoved himself away from the counter, turning silently to leave the room. "Max, wait,"

"Relax, I'm not fucking running away or anything." Max snapped over his shoulder. "I'm going to the bathroom." And with that he left the kitchen, before the anger reached a higher point and he said something he might actually regret. He hadn't meant to snap at the man, but he was like a cat backed into a corner. Already jumpy, on edge - The smallest movement set him off.

The boy sighed as he reached the bathroom, welcoming the silence happily as he shut the door behind him and leaned back against it. His narrowed eyes fixed on the ceiling for a moment, teeth grinding together silently as he tried to push down the overwhelming emotions. Truthfully, Max wasn't sure why he was so angry and frustrated with David. He was just so different from the other adults Max had met - The kid wasn't sure how to respond to any of it, didn't know how to understand. He knew David was trying to help him, but for fuck's sake…

"Why can't you just be a normal adult, Davey?" Max grumbled, pulling the bandages out of his pocket. He took one roll and pushed his sleeves up as far as he could, setting to work wrapping up his arms. "Maybe then I wouldn't question everything I know." He tied it up loosely, making sure the wrap was nice and tight before tugging his sleeve down over his arm and working on the next one, taking his time. A few minutes passed as Max tried to make the few inches left on the bandage last at least an extra thirty seconds; It seemed like barely any time had passed at all before David called him.

"Max, the pancakes are done!"

Max grumbled slightly, nothing in particular, just small, growling noises a pissed off cat would make as he finished off the bandages and pulled his sleeves down, staring down at his hands in silence for a few seconds before reluctantly turning and leaving the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and heading down the hall. When he got there, David was now sitting at the table with a plate in front of him, and a plate where Max had been sitting, both plates holding pancakes. Max had only had pancakes once before - And that's when Kyle's mom made them for him once when he went over to his house for a while

...That was honestly probably the only time he'd ever seen Kyle's mom. After all it was difficult to sneak weed past a parent; Kyle and Max often had it set up so they were alone with free reign of the house. And if that didn't work, they'd either go to the treehouse in Kyle's backyard, Max's place while his parents were away, or the gang base.

"Thanks." Max mumbled grudgingly, walking over and climbing up into the chair with a frown as he picked up the fork that had been set over the pancakes. He raised an eyebrow down at the food for a moment, falling silent for the longest time. "David."

"Yeah kiddo?" David questioned, glancing up. Max went silent for a while again, poking one of the pancakes with his fork briefly before taking a deep breath and looking up, fixing David with a completely confused look.

"Why does the food have a face?"

David's lips twitched despite himself, clearing his throat as he fought to keep a straight face. Max dropped his gaze back to the pancakes. The one stacked on top had little eyes made out of whipped cream, and a smile made out small blueberries that were stuck to the pancakes like syrup. Needless to say, the kid was purely confused by this. And kind of amused at the same time, which made the situation worse.

"Hm," David tilted his head slightly, studying the food as Max turned back to him. "I don't know. It didn't have a face a few seconds ago." He replied, sounding genuinely confused. Max blinked, poking the pancake again.

"Oh my god, is it  _sentient_?" Max asked incredulously, stabbing the fork through the pancakes. "Are these pancakes  _alive_?" He blinked. David just started laughing as he scooped up a forkful of pancake into his mouth, grinning slightly.

"Well, not anymore," he replied after he swallowed. "You just stabbed them. If there was any life in those pancakes, it's gone now. They're dead. You have killed the pancakes." The man joked. Max stared at him blankly for a moment, then squinted slightly.

"Shit. Could I go to jail for this? Does killing sentient pancakes count as murder? Is that a thing?" Max asked carefully, poking the pancakes with the fork again, eyes wide. "I don't wanna go back to jail."

"You've-" David cut off and shook his head, letting out a soft snort. "I can just hear it now, though. " _Excuse me, sir, you're under arrest for the murder of three pancakes"_."

Max snorted slightly, surprising even himself as he snickered. "" _In my defense officer, pancakes are technically not supposed to be alive in the first place, my Uncle is just a horrible ass cook and can somehow make food sentient_ "." He retorted, stabbing the fork through the pancake and scooping some into his mouth.

"" _Tell it to the judge"_ ," David mocked, letting out a small laugh despite himself as he watched the kid. "And excuse you, my cooking is amazing," he replied in a mockingly offended tone. Max rolled his eyes and smiled faintly to himself, keeping his gaze fixed on his plate as he chewed. As much as he hated to admit it, David's cooking really  _was_ good. The kid didn't know whether to be annoyed or impressed - Just one more thing David was good at. The eleven year old took another bite in silence, pushing the pancakes around on his plate lightly for a moment before scooping up some more.

"Oh," Max paused with the fork inches to his lips, suddenly lifting his head to look up at David, who tilted his head questioningly. "It's Saturday. Dad works Saturdays, so I can go by and get the tape recorders."

David went silent for a few moments, poking at his own food and glancing up at Max briefly. He didn't seem too happy about that idea, to the kid's confusion. "I don't think you should go back there," he started after a moment. "Even if Ryan won't be there, I don't think you should have to go back to that house."

Max shrugged, looking back down and taking another small bite of the food. "I mean, you have no idea where the tape recorders are, and I have some shit I need to get from the house anyway, since apparently I'm going to be staying here for god knows how long. It's not like a few extra minutes in that place is gonna kill me." He said simply, annoyance lacing his words. Honestly, David thought he was so fucking  _fragile_ , like he would break apart at any second over the smallest thing. "Besides, don't you work or some shit?"

"Not on Saturdays," David laughed a bit despite himself. "Alright, if you want to go, I'm not stopping you. But I'm coming with you, no arguments. I don't want you going alone anywhere, just in case. Okay?"

"Yeah, whatever, camp man." Max replied, rolling his eyes. He managed to finish off most of his pancakes, surprising even himself with how much he'd eaten - Only stopping when he felt way too full, stomach starting to hurt. It was an odd feeling he wasn't quite used to. The kid sat back, biting down on his lip for a few moments. "Ow."

"Are you okay?" David eyed his plate for a moment, seeming kind of pleased with how much the kid had eaten. Max nodded slightly and tilted his head back a bit, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before eventually pushing himself forward again, watching David finish his food off and pick the plates up to clean up.

"So, when can we go?" Max asked after a moment, pushing his chair back a little and standing up. The eleven year old stretched slightly, rubbing his eyes before reaching up and fixing his hair a little bit, straightening the messy curls down.

David grinned at him, looking faintly amused. "Eager, huh, kiddo?" He asked, ruffling Max's hair a bit as he passed. This time Max pushed his arm away, whining a bit in protest and reaching up to fix the curls again. Why the fuck did he always feel the need to do that? David just laughed a bit and headed over to the sink, rinsing the plates off with a smile. "Well, I suppose we can go now and get everything while we can. What time does your dad get off work?"

"Six," Max sighed. He had his father's schedule memorized; After all, he had to make sure he knew what times to be home if he was going out, what times to prepare himself for a beating, or yelling, or anything like that. "Six on Saturdays." He checked the time again. It was only 10:00. The boy nodded faintly and turned back to David. "We got time."

"Good," David replied, turning to him with a smile. Max tilted his head faintly for a moment, studying him silently. He'd never understand why David was so happy. Why he could be so  _cheerful._  Max honestly didn't know whether or not he was annoyed by it or… Glad for it. Because on one hand, it was completely different from everything he'd ever known. And on the other hand? That was… Probably a  _good_ thing. "Well, then, let's go." He ruffled Max's hair once more, and Max let out an annoyed groan and shoved him away.

"Are we walking or driving, camp man?"

"Driving, silly," David laughed a bit, making sure the stove was off. Max just shrugged. He was used to walking everywhere - It wasn't as if his parents really gave him rides. Not that it mattered - Max was fine with walking. Or… Well, he had been for a while. He was more wary about it ever since… That one day. But it didn't matter. Max cleared his throat, dropping his gaze and pushing the memories away. "I'll go get the car started," David told him, walking past him and squeezing the kid's shoulder as he passed. Max nodded briefly, looking up for a moment and glancing around in silence. He stayed where he was for a second, hearing the door shut behind David.

Eventually, the kid sighed and turned, walking into the living room to grab his shoes. He didn't even remember taking them off the night before - His mother must have while he was sleeping. Max just fell back onto the couch, easily slipping the shoes on. This whole situation was still pretty confusing, and he had to remind himself not to get too used to it. Just in case this whole thing didn't work out. Just in case it backfired and he ended up right back in the situation he'd always been in. The boy sat back for a moment, staring blankly at nothing in particular for the longest time. His life fucking sucked. He knew it, he was used to it.

This life didn't suck. And he was barely fucking living it.

_Don't get used to it, Maxwell._ He reminded himself again, reluctantly pushing himself up off the couch. He glanced around once before reluctantly heading out, pulling the door shut behind him.  _Home sweet home, here I go._ He thought sarcastically, shaking his head slightly with a sigh.  _Yeah, this is fine._

* * *

 

"Shit."

"Language."

Max rolled his eyes, biting back a sharp retort. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, narrowing his eyes at his house for a second. Max honestly hadn't been sure what to expect, but he never really looked at his father as a man who gave a shit whether or not his door was locked. And sure enough, the damn thing  _was_ locked, much to the kid's disbelief and annoyance. And it wasn't like he had a key. Not really  _his_ fault, right? He'd just never needed one. The door was always unlocked.  _Someone's paranoid._ Max thought, turning away for a moment and letting his gaze drift around for a second.

"Well, this is fine," David told him, clearing his throat and giving a small smile as he turned back to Max, who gave a noncommittal grunt in response. "We'll just get your mother to give us her key whenever she gets off work, no problem!" He cleared his throat. "Yep, no worries. So, I was thinking we could stop by the- …"

"Stop by the…?" Max questioned absently, having turned back to study his house again.  _How much trouble would I be in if I broke the window?_ He thought, squinting slightly and looking the place up and down.  _I mean, it's my house, would it count as breaking and entering?_ He was honestly considering grabbing a rock to chuck at one of the windows, but a hand came to rest on his shoulder, tugging slightly to turn him around. Max just blinked, shrugging David off. "What?"

"Why is that kid clinging to a rain pipe?" David asked quietly, his tone nothing but pure confusion. Max's expression changed slightly to bewilderment at those words, but it didn't take too long for his face to flush with complete understanding, turning to follow his gaze. A few houses down, sure enough there was a kid clinging to a rain pipe. He was about fifteen years old, with spiky sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes. He waved at Max and David as he slid down, whooping all the while.

"That would be my best friend," Max told David, who's confusion only seemed to deepen. Max snickered a bit despite himself, pulling his hands out of his pockets. "Kyle," he informed his Uncle, moving forward a bit as Kyle pretty much zipped over to them, almost squealing with excitement. "Hey, K."

"M&M!" Kyle squealed happily, instantly pulling Max up into his arms and spinning him around in a hug. Max shook his head, pushing his hands against Kyle's shoulders in an attempt to make him release him. Kyle did not seem fazed at all. "Eeeeeeee heya buddy holy  _shit_ I've missed you!" He laughed, setting the kid down and ruffling his hair teasingly. "I think we all missed you yesterday!"

"Yeah, sorry about that, buddo," Max chuckled a bit, brushing himself off quickly and lightly kicking Kyle's foot with his own. His best friend was sometimes way too energetic for the kid to keep up with. Then again, he wasn't really complaining. Kyle was.. Kyle. And as overwhelming and idiotic as he seemed, he was Max's best friend - Had been since the kid was… What, four? Max wasn't sure. "I had places to go. People to see. Speaking of," he glanced toward David for a second. The man was watching the two with wide, curious eyes. "This is David."

"Dude what the fuck kind of growth spurt did you have?" Kyle turned on David at that moment, tilting his head back to look up at him. Despite being pretty tall himself, Kyle was nowhere near David when it came to height. Made Max feel a hell of a lot better, actually. "Fuck, dude," he laughed a little, holding his fist out to David, who merely blinked, the camp counselor staring down at the kid in faint confusion. "Pound it."

"Ah, right…" David cleared his throat, reluctantly tapping Kyle's fist with his own. Max almost snorted, rolling his eyes at David and stuffing his hands back into his pockets with a smirk. Honestly, he wasn't quite looking forward to how this meeting would go - Kyle was… Extremely overwhelming sometimes. Then again, so was David. Maybe they could form a club. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kyle? I'm David."

"Ye," Kyle nodded slightly, his blonde hair moving with him. He snapped his fingers, doing a brief finger gun motion in David's direction. "The Lorax, right? I've heard a  _lot_ about you. Shit, you're pretty much famous in the gang. Ain't that right, M&M?" He turned to Max, who narrowed his eyes at his best friend with an annoyed sigh, shaking his head slightly in an attempt to get him to shut up. Kyle didn't seem to get the hint. Either that, or he didn't give a shit. "It's nice to finally meet the great David."

"Oh-" David cut off, eyes wide with faint surprise. He glanced toward Max, who gave him a warning look as well, silently telling him not to ask. "Uh… Lorax?" The man eventually squeaked, shaking his head in confusion.

"You are the Lorax and you speak for the trees." Kyle confirmed, a soft laugh escaping him. "Trees are the shit, dude- Oh, speaking of," he turned to Max at that moment, and the eleven year old tore his gaze away from David to look up at his best friend, head tilting faintly to the side, questioningly. "I got some of the good shit from A," he smirked. Max perked up instantly, immediately interested now.

"Crack?"

"Wh- No," Kyle groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. Max groaned slightly, deflating once more. "No, buddy. Not crack. We're not- No. Okay. Just. I got. I got weed. For fuck's sake." Max couldn't help the small smirk on his face at that. He loved how much he annoyed his friend. Honestly, he wasn't sure what Kyle had against crack, but it didn't really matter. Max honestly didn't care what they got as long as it got him high, though. And Kyle would  _kill_ him if he knew that.

"I'm sorry, weed?" David spoke up before Max could, the two kids jumping slightly at his voice, both having forgotten he was there. Max raised an eyebrow toward Kyle, who facepalmed, burying his face into his hands with a sigh. "Max, you- You… Smoke drugs?" He asked carefully, turning to Max with wide eyes.

"S- Smoke… Smoke drugs," Kyle choked out before Max could respond, lifting his head again to focus on David with wide, disbelieving eyes. Max smirked faintly to himself, giving David a complete  _you're fucked_ look, making the man's confused, overwhelmed expression deepen. Kyle took a deep breath, turning completely to David. "Okay, first- First of all, it's not just any drugs, it's weed. High quality indica. The best chill-out shit you can get." He clasped his hands together. "It's fucking amazing. I smoked it once with T and it was the shit."

"O- Oh," David actually looked somewhat horrified, staring at the fifteen year old with wide eyes for the longest time. "Well, that's… Okay, um, Max, please tell me you don't, you don't…" He turned to Max, who shrugged slightly. He wasn't really sure why David was borderline freaking out over it. He'd been smoking with Kyle since he was six.

"Since I was six, man," Max told David, watching in faint amusement as the man's expression changed from confusion to pure horror. Max studied him for a moment before turning back to Kyle, shrugging his shoulders at the curious look his best friend was giving him. "Excuse my Uncle, he's extremely uptight."

"Uncle?" Kyle echoed, turning back to him with wide eyes as that one particular part sunk in. "No fuckin' way, your Uncle's the camp man?" He demanded, nodding toward David. Max nodded slightly, and Kyle's shocked expression turned smug in an instant, staring the kid down. Max just stared back.  _Oh, he better not fucking say anything or I'm breaking his fucking kneecaps,_ Max thought, narrowing his eyes at his best friend. Now he was honestly regretting telling Kyle anything about David. But, in his defense, he hadn't known the two were going to  _meet_.  _Ever._

"Well, that's great for you," Kyle snickered, bumping Max's shoulder lightly. Max sighed softly in relief, relaxing a bit. "Good luck."

"Kyle, you're a good friend," Max smirked slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets. He glanced toward David, who was standing still now as he processed everything, his expression one of pure confusion and disbelief. Max snorted faintly before turning back to Kyle, amused. "So, you heading back to rehab this summer?"

"God, fucking yeah," Kyle complained, shaking his head side to side and sending his already messy mop of blonde hair flying and tangling as he scowled. "I get my folks are all worried and shit but god damn, it's not like rehab does any fucking thing." He huffed. "And I guess you ain't joining me this year?"

"Probably not," Max chuckled a bit, looking away. He'd only spent one year with Kyle in rehab, and he honestly tried like hell to forget about it. Hard to do when his best friend brought it up constantly, but in Kyle's defense, he didn't really know  _why_ Max had gone to rehab. The boy exhaled softly, running his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I'ma  _probably_ be back at Campbell, if all this shit isn't sorted out before summer gets here. Since I'm now staying with David."

"Whoa." Kyle's eyes widened at that information, grinning brightly at his best friend. "Hey, that's a good thing. From what you've told me, David's not a total asshole like Ry-guy." He chirped, throwing an arm around the kid's shoulders. Max shrugged slightly, but he didn't make an attempt to push him away, fixing his gaze on the ground for a moment. Yeah, David wasn't a total asshole. But that didn't mean this situation was exactly a… " _Good"_ thing, did it? Max's life had basically crumbled right in front of him, and he was watching it all go to hell now.

Within just a day he'd been pushed into a life he didn't know how to live. Was that a good thing?

"Maybe." Max eventually sighed, finally shrugging Kyle off. "If this whole thing works out, anyway." He went silent for a moment, rocking back and forth on his feet. Now he could feel David's gaze on him, but the kid didn't look up this time, choosing instead to turn his mint green eyes to his best friend. "I'll cat'cha later, Kit Kat. Kay?"

"Yeah okay, M&M," Kyle replied brightly, gently ruffling Max's hair again. "See you soon, little buddy. Have fun with your Uncle." At the last word, both Max and Kyle grinned. Kyle then turned to David, once more doing a finger gun motion toward him. It was clear where Max had learned that from now, probably. "See ya, Lorax. G'luck with mister troublemaker."

Max smacked Kyle on the shoulder lightly as David smiled faintly, giving Kyle a faintly uncertain glance as he nodded to the fifteen year old. "Oh, Max is nothing I can't handle. You, er… Take care of yourself, Kyle."

"No promises!" Kyle snapped his fingers and backed away from them. "I'll tell T you said hi, Machine Gun," he added over his shoulder, whirling around and taking off down the street. Max tilted his head faintly after his best friend, watching him go. As much as he would have loved to follow him, go back to the gang base and hang out with Tommy and the guys, he knew David probably didn't want him out of his sight. Especially not with what the man had learned recently. So there wasn't a chance of that.

"Isn't he just the best?" Max asked after a moment of silence, his dry voice laced with lazy amusement as he turned back to look up at David, who smiled nervously down at him. The man cleared his throat, putting an arm on Max's shoulder and gently but quickly steering him back toward the car, opening the passenger's side door for him to get in.

"Kiddo, he's nice, really, he is, and I'm glad you've got friends here but," David took a deep breath as Max got into the car, making sure he was buckled up before shutting the door and going around to get in the driver's side. Max tilted his head, his mint green gaze following his Uncle and his amused smirk fading faintly to an annoyed frown. "I just- I don't think he's a good influence on you,"

"Please," Max scoffed at that, rolling his eyes at his Uncle with a scowl. "If anyone's the bad influence, it's me." He turned his head away, looking out the window as David started the car. Honestly, he knew Kyle was a bad influence. But he also knew he was too far gone at this point to give a shit.

"I-" David cut off, clearly not knowing what to say, and Max silently turned his head to look back at him, quirking an eyebrow expectantly. "Max, he's not- He doesn't  _pressure_ you to smoke, does he?" He eventually pressed, looking worried. Max almost laughed at that. Kyle and him had been friends for two years before Max even considered picking up a bowl. Kyle had teased him with it a couple times, offered it to him - " _You wanna hit?"_ \- But the offer was empty, playful. Kyle never pressured him to smoke; He was completely shocked the day Max decided to give it a try.

"No, David. Kyle doesn't force me to do drugs." Max said blankly, chuckling a bit despite himself as he turned his head to look out the window. "He's a good guy."

"Well, I…" David trailed off, clearing his throat. Max glanced ahead briefly at the road as they drove on, for once unamused by how flustered David seemed right then. "Everyone can be a good person," David finally mumbled. "There's good in everybody, anybody can change." Max did nothing but hum silently, not in agreement, but not really in disagreement either. In all honesty, it sounded to the kid like David was trying to convince himself of that fact; That thought alone made Max snort.

"Where we going, camp man?"

"Oh, to the store," David replied quickly, seeming much more relaxed with the subject change. "I need to pick up a few things, and since we couldn't get any of your stuff yet, I thought I'd take you to buy some clothes and stuff you might need, since we don't know how long it might be before we can get anything from your house," he added, clearing his throat.

Max grimaced, rolling his head around and squinting at him silently for a few seconds. "David, the last thing I need right now is you wasting money buying me shit." He told him seriously, crossing his arms.

"It's not a waste of money if it's getting you things you'll need." David replied firmly, shaking his head at the eleven year old. Max groaned and shook his head a bit. Was he winning this argument? No. And honestly, he hated it. "Just don't argue with me this one time, please, kiddo?"

Max grumbled slightly at the camp counselor, but after a few moments he merely shook his head and turned away again, fixing his glare out the window with a small frown. Why was David even being so fucking nice to him in the first place? Yes, it was David. And he really shouldn't be so surprised. But that wasn't the point - Why couldn't David be like most adults he knew, and just not  _give_ a shit? "You fucking suck at being an adult."

There was a long moment of silence as David considered that. Max just shut his eyes and leaned his head against the window, pulling his legs up against the seat silently and shifting into a slightly more comfortable position. When David spoke again, his voice was quiet.

"I wish you knew how wrong you were, Max."


	4. That's Alright, Let It Out, Talk To Me.

"What about green?"

Max narrowed his eyes faintly, mint green eyes focusing on the green hoodie David was holding up. The boy wasn't really impressed. It was a dark, pukey green color and just looking at it made the kid want to hurl. Why David was insisting on buying him clothes was beyond him - And why a different colored hoodie, for fuck's sake? He was content with the blue one. The boy sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and hunching his shoulders up a little bit, glaring at David. "It's fucking ugly."

"Language," David protested, shaking his head slightly and turning away, putting the hoodie back to grab another one. Max shrugged and leaned back, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes as David turned and held up another hoodie, this one red. "Red?"

"Oh,  _hell fucking no_." Max seethed, eyeing the red hoodie for a split second. Honestly, he hated that fucking color. Alex usually always made him wear something red when they were together, saying that red looked great on him, that he looked adorable, it brought out his eyes, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, that fucking pedophile was blind anyway. Max looked  _way_ better in blue than he did in red. Besides, Nerris made these hoodies for him herself. Even after Max… Changed. The kid scowled and ducked his head a bit, narrowing his eyes at David briefly. "I'm not wearing red. Fuck that."

"Okay, okay," David smiled at him reassuringly, as if to remind the kid that he wasn't going to force him to do anything he didn't want to do, turning to put the hoodie back. Max had already let David pick out some other clothes for him, although he was completely annoyed as he did, but he knew David wouldn't let the matter go. That wasn't to say Max was going to let him pick out a new hoodie for him. Max could stand there and turn those ugly ass things away all day. Unless David finally ended up snapping at him or something, Max would win this battle.

"I don't need a new hoodie, David. I like the blue one, thank you very much." The kid squinted at the other hoodies for a moment. Stupid, store-bought shit. The ones Nerris made him were much better, far more comfortable than anything else the kid could wear. "Can we just get this shit-shopping over with and go ho- Back to your place?" Minor slip-up, wouldn't happen again.

David's eyes had brightened briefly when the kid started to say the word, though; He deflated slightly when he corrected himself. Max just rolled his eyes and turned away, gaze flickering around the store. "Well, if that's what you want, kiddo!" David chirped, moving away from the hoodies and brushing his hands off with a smile. "Are you sure you don't want anything else while we're here?" He gestured around at the clothes, tilting his head at Max.

"David, I'm fucking sure, let's go," Max replied impatiently, bouncing a little on the tips of his toes with a scowl. Honestly, the kid didn't handle any kindness well, did he? He truly didn't know how to react to someone being nice to him. The thought almost made him snort as he fell into step with David, hands shoved into his pockets and his narrowed eyes trailing around the store. He was usually the one that did the shopping whenever he came there; It felt weird to just kind of… Be there. To let the adult take care of it.

"Alright, let's see…" David mumbled, tapping his fingers against the cart as he pushed it along. Max stayed right beside him, keeping pace easily and letting his gaze trail around. He saw other kids with their parents, laughing and playing, and he almost wanted to laugh at how misbehaved they seemed. Grabbing at everything they could begging for candy.  _Honestly, it's like they don't know how to fucking act their age._ Max thought, quirking an eyebrow and leaning back a bit as he walked, listening to David listing off the things they might need.

"Frozen pizzas… I'm thinking we could have steak and mac and cheese for dinner?" The man paused and looked down at Max, who gave a halfhearted shrug in his direction. "We also need more trash bags, laundry detergent, bleach…" David continued on absently, his voice fading slightly. Max's steps faltered slightly just at that last word, almost stumbling until he had completely stopped in his tracks.

_Bleach._

* * *

 

" _Shit!"_

_Max winced slightly as he watched the cup he'd been holding abruptly crash to the floor, the glass shattering in several different directions. Max ducked slightly to avoid getting hit by any of the flying shards, grasping the sink and leaning back in the chair he'd been standing on. The kid was probably ten years old during this time, just back from camp. And like the fucking idiot he was, he'd forgotten that his father didn't appreciate cussing nearly as much as those idiots back at Camp Campbell did. So when Ryan stormed into the room, twisting a cigarette against his palm to put it out and fixing Max with a look that could kill, the kid knew he was beyond fucking screwed._

" _Did you just swear, Maxwell?" Ryan demanded, crossing his arms and fixing his son with a dangerously cold glare. Max swallowed, shifting slightly and wondering if he could make a run for it if he just bolted now. His father's glare didn't waver, storming closer to the already petrified boy. "What have I told you about swearing?"_

" _I," Max opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again when his father was directly in front of him, looking down at the child he long towered over. Max seemed to shrink down into the blue hoodie he was wearing, trying to make himself smaller than he already was. "I didn't m- mean to, I'm-"_

_He bit his tongue, fighting back a yelp as Ryan simply grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him off the chair, throwing him to the floor. Max hissed under his breath, having to literally fight against himself not to cuss again. He didn't say anything, didn't fight as Ryan grabbed his arm and yanked him up - Probably dislocating the kid's shoulder, if the frighteningly loud popping sound was anything to go by - And all but dragged him out of the room, the kid trying in vain to make it a little easier for himself and walk after his father as Max was pulled to his room._

" _I swear to god, I'm honestly so fucking sick of you," Ryan snarled, throwing the kid onto his bed. Max scrambled back instantly, pressing himself against the wall and watching as Ryan disappeared from the room. It only seemed like a few seconds had passed before Ryan returned, holding a bottle of something Max knew well, and a small cup._

" _N- No, no, please," Max pleaded instantly as Ryan walked over to him. "D- Dad-" He started, his breath catching in his throat and his chest tightening with panic. Ryan gave the boy a glare that shut him up instantly though, save for a few soft whimpers as Max curled up slightly._

" _Maybe if you weren't such a worthless freaking fuck-up, I wouldn't have to be doing this," Ryan snapped, yanking the child right back up. Max flinched away, but he didn't try to curl back up, sitting exactly where he was and trembling as he watched his father twist the cap off of the bleach, pouring it into the cup and only stopping when he'd filled it halfway. Max's heart stopped as Ryan turned back to him. "Open."_

* * *

 

Max was vaguely aware of someone shaking him, the thought just barely registering in his mind as the vision faded. The boy shook his head vigorously from side to side in an attempt to clear his head, feeling nothing but pure confusion for a second as he took in his surroundings. It took at least a full minute for the memories to sink in completely, realizing he wasn't at home with his father. He was in a store, with David. David who was crouching down next to him, cart completely abandoned as he stared at the kid in concern, hands on Max's shoulders.

"Max," David sighed, looking relieved when Max finally focused on him. The kid just shrugged him off; Or, rather, tried to. David's hands stayed firmly in place despite Max's attempts to shake him off, the man looking beyond concerned. "Thank god… Are you okay? What happened?" He pressed instantly, scooping the kid up into his arms, much to Max's chagrin.

"Ugh, nothing, asshole, what the fuck?" Max hissed, trying in vain to struggle away from the man. "Put me down." He growled. David just frowned, walking over and gently placing Max down in the basket of the cart, shaking his head faintly.

"You've got me really worried, kiddo. You just spaced out for like, five minutes," David stressed, placing a hand on Max's forehead briefly. The way Max recoiled and flinched back didn't really go unnoticed, the kid still shaken from the memory. The eleven year old grimaced, jerking away from him and sinking down with a scowl. He normally would have put up more of a fight to get out of the damn cart, but in all honesty he didn't have it in him right then.

"I feel like a kid."

"You  _are_ a kid," David reminded him, moving back over to continue pushing the cart. His gaze flickered to Max every now and again, but the kid refused to meet his gaze, turning to look around. Why the hell would David need bleach? The kid didn't know, it could be for a lot of reasons. He did, however, know that he was staying with David now, and David had a real problem with the cussing, and Max fucking swore like a sailor.

 _Oh, lord, I'm fucked._  Max thought, exhaling slowly and sinking back a little bit with a frown, shifting slightly into a faintly more comfortable position. He tried to push the thoughts of bleach aside, glancing around. He's never rode in one of these things before, it was… Different. Almost…  _No, don't think it, Max. 'Cause you're just gonna start liking it, and then you'll go right back to how things were before and look back on all this good shit and feel sad and depressed, more so than you already do. And nobody wants that._

_...S'fun though._

_I hate myself._ Max sighed, leaning forward and resting his chin in his hands, elbows pressed down onto his crossed legs as he glanced back up at David, quirking an eyebrow at the man curiously. "So, are you buying me, then?"

"H- Wha?" David blinked, almost pulling the cart to a stop, but he continued pushing, now looking down at Max with wide eyes. The eleven year old simply shrugged, an amused, lazy little grin appearing on his face. "Pfft, I don't have to, I can take you home for free," David responded after a moment, leaning forward to ruffle Max's hair. Luckily, he could only reach so far over the cart, and Max was able to lean back just barely to escape having his curls messed up, fixing David with a faintly annoyed look.

"You know, David, I'm not some stray fucking puppy you can just pick up and take home."

"No, you're not a puppy," David agreed, biting down on his lower lip thoughtfully for a moment before grinning, his eyes brightening faintly. "You're a kitten, at best. Cute and fuzzy, but fierce and willing to rip you apart at any given moment with those sharp little claws." At this, Max just stared at him, not knowing whether to feel amused or annoyed.  _Kitten._ He thought, narrowing his eyes slightly.  _Lord have mercy. That better not fucking stick._

"Or, y'know. A tiger. Tigers are fierce."

"I'll allow that," Max conceded, crossing his arms and sitting back as he wrinkled his nose at David, jerking his chin up in a brief display of defiance. Defiance over what, he had absolutely no idea, but. "I'm a tiger. Roar."

"No, no, Max," David shook his head with a goofy little grin. "It's  _rawr._ "

"I am not ever going to say that," Max told him seriously, squinting slightly at his Uncle as he eased himself back again, growing a little more comfortable now. As much as he… "Hated" David, he was one of the few adults Max could actually fucking tolerate, and as annoying as he was he was probably the only adult Max could… Somewhat trust. Honestly the kid didn't know if he trusted David completely. Not yet, anyway.

"Aw," David pouted playfully, sticking his tongue out at the kid. Max just quirked an eyebrow at him silently, sitting back and crossing his arms. How was it that he was more of an adult than David? The eleven year old was aware he was mature for his age - Extremely so, but still. An adult should act like an adult, right? Or was that just another thing Max had confused? Because at this point, the boy was basically questioning his entire existence. "Well, we'll see, I guess!" He paused, pulling the cart to a stop in one particular aisle. "Hey, you want some candy?"

"Candy?" Max blinked, distracted now as he turned his head, staring at the rows of candy on the shelves. Any other kid would have jumped at the chance; Max sat completely still, quirking an eyebrow toward the chocolate bars and other varieties of sugary snacks. "You know this shit rots your teeth, right?"

"Language," David laughed, taking a few steps away to grab a little bag of something - Skittles, Max knew. He'd never tried them before; He didn't really get candy. Save for a few chocolate bars he shared with Kyle on occasion, but other than that, Max was firm in his "only-eating-when-he-was-close-to-starving-to-death" rule. The kid shifted slightly where he sat as David tossed the bag into the cart, leaning forward and pinching it carefully between his fingers to lift it up, studying it curiously.

"What do these taste like?"

"Oh, we are getting all the candy I can afford," David told him, sucking in a sharp breath and turning back to the aisle. Max just hummed in vague acknowledgement, turning the bag around carefully to read through the ingredients. So much fucking sugar. Was David planning on killing him with a sugarhigh? That honestly sounded kind of painful. He'd never gone on a sugarhigh. Could you overdose on sugar?

Max decided, by the time they left the candy aisle, that yes, with as much candy as David had just stacked into the cart, sugar could probably be fatal. "You're a fucking weirdo, David."

"Language," David giggled, this time succeeding in ruffling Max's hair, as the child failed to duck away on time. Max groaned and pushed his hands away, grumbling and running his fingers through his hair in a futile attempt to straighten out the messy, bouncing black curls as he fixed David with an annoyed glare. David merely smiled, his Uncle looking happier than ever as he continued to push the cart through the store. "But I know, kiddo. I know."

Max shrugged slightly, leaning back and looking around boredly as David continued to shop. He edged away a bit when David set the bleach in the cart, turning his mint green gaze to the bottle and narrowing his eyes slightly with obvious distrust, gritting his teeth together faintly. He shouldn't jump to conclusions. After all, David wasn't his father. He wouldn't make him drink bleach for cussing. But maybe it'd be better to watch his mouth, just in case… The kid narrowed his eyes and tore his gaze away, scowling slightly.  _Well, shit. Maxwell, you're fucked._

"Hey, Max," David paused for a second, and Max silently turned his gaze back to him, quirking an eyebrow questioningly. "I was thinking…"

"Oh, not a good sign."

David gave him a look, but continued. "I was thinking about what you said earlier. About… Not knowing how to be a kid, and…"

"No, no, no," Max growled, jabbing a finger at him and sitting back with a scowl. "No. We are  _not_ having one of your lame-ass fucking chick-flick moments, David." He crossed his arms stubbornly, glowering at the man. There was no way in hell he was going to talk about this again, so David could go ahead and shove whatever thoughts he'd had up his ass, because Max had had all the "moments" he could deal with for one day.

"Max, please," David insisted. "This is serious. Look, nobody's trying to pressure you to be a kid. I can't force you to do anything you don't want. And I told you before, you shouldn't have to pretend for anyone." Max groaned and slumped forward, burying his face into his hands. David sighed softly and continued. "But I also told you you deserve to be happy. And you do.  _And_ you deserve to be the kid you are. I want to help give you the childhood you missed out on, Max."

"And what if I don't want your help, camp man?" Max grumbled, lifting his head and sitting back once more, fixing David with an icy glare. "What if I don't want it?"

"Even abused kids still want to be kids, Max..."

Max groaned and rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "Look. Camp man. Yeah, sure, I  _want_ to be a kid. But I've kind of accepted by now that I never have been, and I never  _will_ be, so can you please fucking drop it before all this sweet sugary shit rots my teeth faster than all this junk food you got can?" He  _didn't_ want to talk about any of this shit. What he wanted was to get this dumb shopping over with and go back to David's and do whatever the fuck they would do when they got there because honestly, the kid didn't know what to do.

"You can be whatever you want to be, Max," David mumbled, staring down at the kid. Max just rolled his eyes again and looked away, unamused. The kid fell silent after that, and to his relief, so did David. At least, for a while. To his credit, it was a few minutes before he spoke again. "Well, like I said, I can't force you, but I do want to try to give you a better life. At least as long as you're staying with me."

Max wished somebody would tell him what he was feeling at this point, because he sure as fuck had no clue. The kid just sank down into the cart and glared down at his hands, twisting the sleeves of his hoodie a little bit. Once again, it was silent - Thankfully. It left Max with his thoughts. Which… Wasn't necessarily a good thing, but at least the silence meant David couldn't say anything else to confuse the kid more than he already was. He wished it wasn't so difficult to understand. He was  _smart_ for his age, he was fucking more intelligent than most adults he'd met, and he couldn't comprehend  _this_ to save his fucking life.

_You're pathetic, Woods._

Max just scoffed, and shook his head again. Boy, did he know it.

"David?"

"Gwen!"

"Gwen?" Max snapped out of his thoughts almost instantly, a look of surprise crossing his face as he turned his head. Sure enough, there was the number-two camp counselor on her way over to the two, holding a small basket filled with some stuff she was buying. Max twisted completely in the cart to face her, ignoring the confused look in the woman's purple eyes and instead moving on to inspect whatever the fuck Gwen was buying, his curiosity raging. Gwen, however, pulled the basket away before Max could get a good look, sticking her tongue out at Max.

"Eat shit, Satan." Gwen told him, plucking the boy's forehead. Max winced slightly and grumbled, pushing her hand away and sitting back with a scowl pointed in the woman's direction, though his eyes stayed fixed on the basket. "What are you even doing with David anyway, you little shit?"

"Max is going to be staying with me for a while," David explained, grabbing a stack of paper plates and setting it down into the basket beside Max, who scooted away a little bit to make more room. Which wasn't hard, considering the child was small as fuck. "And his mother! Turns out this little guy is my nephew, what're the odds, huh?"

Gwen blinked, taking a few seconds to process that information before raising her eyebrows and turning back to Max, who finally met her gaze. Gwen gave him a purely sympathetic look, shaking her head in mock sadness. "Good luck, Max. Good luck." She said blankly. Max snickered a bit despite himself. That was one of the things he liked about Gwen - She understood him. They shared a dry sense of humor that was easy to bond over. "Seriously. How long have you been staying with him so far?"

"Barely a day," Max replied, propping his arms up on his legs and leaning forward a little in the cart, his head in his hands and fingers tapping lightly against his cheek in thought. "And I don't know how I'm surviving, Gwen. It's torture." He added dramatically, to which Gwen smirked a bit despite herself. Max couldn't really bring himself to make the words sound sincere. After all, he knew what real torture was like. As annoying and sappy as David was, living with him didn't even come close to the top of the list of things he considered torture.

"I bet, you little brat." Gwen snickered, plucking Max's forehead again. And, again, Max shoved her away, sticking his tongue out slightly at the woman as she turned back to David. "So, why's he staying with you, anyway?" She questioned, leaning against the cart and raising her eyebrows at David curiously.

"Oh, well…" David paused and looked over at Max, clearly asking if he would mind if David told Gwen about everything. Max gave a simple one-shouldered shrug his direction and turned away as David turned back to Gwen and launched into the explanation. Max zoned him out, not needing to hear it, and shifted slightly to lean back into the cart with a sigh. He didn't want to feel content, but he couldn't stop himself from relaxing, kind of… Comfortable now with the two. It was a weird feeling, especially when he was around  _adults_ , but Max chose to ignore it.  _Don't look too deeply into it._

Max kept his gaze drifting, focusing on the people around him for a moment. They were boring, but they kept his mind busy, memorizing their clothes, what they looked like, carefully taking in every detail for no particular reason. The kid shifted slightly and leaned forward, pushing his hands down between his legs and digging his fingers into the small holes in the cart, crossing his legs around his arms silently. His mint green gaze continued to flick over the people, busying his mind.  _Boring, boring, boring, boring, boring…_

His thoughts screeched to an abrupt halt. Like a car slamming on breaks. It all just crashed to a jarring stop. His mint gaze froze on one man in particular, and he swore he felt his heartrate quicken. No, that was an understatement. His heartrate fucking skyrocketed. Everything stopped; He couldn't hear anything but his own blood rushing, the sound of his heart pulsing at an alarming pace. But he couldn't even think about that. He couldn't think about  _anything_.

At least, for a few seconds. Until it suddenly kicked in.

_What's he doing here?_

_Why's he here?_

_What the fuck is he doing here?_

_Why here of all places?_

_Why now?_

_Why after all this time?_

_Is he going to do something? What is he going to do? Can he even do anything?_

Max didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about Damion. Or that day. Or what Damion could do. Or what could happen. Or that he was here. He wanted to get the fuck out of this store now, that's what he fucking wanted. He wanted to get as far away from that man as he fucking could. Because while Ryan and Alex did pretty bad shit to him, Damion took the fucking  _cake_. He was the reason Max had shut himself off from other adults. He was the reason Max couldn't trust anybody anymore. He was the reason Max had  _changed._

Max swallowed, unable to move his gaze away. He watched Damion turn, the man's amber eyes fixing on him, and he felt his blood run completely cold. The boy froze, his fingers tightening around the holes in the cart, hands clenching until his knuckles turned white. It was like a plunge into pure, icy water. The chill hurt like hell and took his breath away, and the terrified feeling only grew when the man's lips turned up in a cold smirk.

Max had to get the fuck out of here. Now.

"Max?"

"Ah-!" Max actually shrieked, something he was going to berate himself for later rather violently, jerking away when a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He cringed back a bit, instinctively turning and pulling himself away as fast as he could, shoving the hand away. It took him a good few seconds to be able to breathe again, forcing himself to calm down enough to register David and Gwen. "Shit.  _Don't_  fucking do that," he seethed. His glare flickering from David to Gwen, unsure as to who had touched him.

"Sorry," Gwen snorted, holding up a hand defensively. "Didn't know you were going to be so jumpy today, though. In my defense." She added snarkily. Max fixed her with a pointed glare before exhaling slowly and turning his head, shooting another glance toward Damion. This time, he only let his gaze flicker over the man for a second before turning away again, hunching over slightly and trying to focus on something else. He was literally regretting every decision he'd ever made that led him up to this point in his life.

"Are you okay?" David frowned, leaning forward a bit and looking at Max in concern. Max gritted his teeth slightly, whirling his head around to glare at him.

"I'm fucking  _fine_ , David, and I really fucking wish you'd stop fucking asking me that like I'm just going to break down and spill out every single goddamn problem that I have to you because I'm fucking  _not_!" Max snapped, sucking in a sharp, deep breath. Seeing Damion again had his defenses kicking in. Had him remembering exactly why he couldn't trust adults. Especially not adults like David. Because as happy and nice as they seemed on the outside, they all had horrible fucking intentions deep down. Whatever trust Max had had for David was steadily dissipating, dissolving into the familiar fear and uncertainty. And what did he do with that? He did the only thing he knew how to do. He turned that fear and uncertainty into anger and hostility."So just fuck off already, can we just- Can we just fucking  _go_?"

David blinked once, a faint look of hurt flashing across his face, and Max tore his gaze away before he could feel any of the guilt sinking in. Even Gwen was silent, seeming sort of surprised by the outburst, but Max refused to look at them, once more looking toward Damion. The man was still just staring at him; It made Max just as uncomfortable as it scared him. The kid shifted uncertainly, dropping his gaze to his hands. Luckily enough, they were moving again quickly, David turning and pushing the cart away and Gwen falling into step with them easily.

"I'll come with you guys," Gwen eyed Max for a moment. The eleven year old glanced at her briefly before pointedly looking away, twisting around in the cart so that he wasn't looking toward Damion anymore, not wanting to look at him any longer than he had to. The kid shrank back and pulled his knees up to his chest, glancing up toward David for a quick second before looking away again, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Got nowhere else to go right now anyways."

"You're always welcome, Gwen," David assured her with a warm grin, looking down at Max again briefly. Max sighed and shook his head, feeling his gaze fixed on him, but refusing to look up again. The fear he'd felt toward David so long ago was steadily resurfacing. And he didn't like that. He didn't want to be scared of David. He just…

He needed it all to stop.

If only for one fucking  _second_ , he needed everything to just fucking  _stop._

* * *

 

Max was honestly driving himself crazy at this point, pacing back and forth in the living room. He hadn't seen Damion since he was fucking  _eight years old_. He hadn't seen those piercing amber eyes, that cruel, cold smile that had seemed so fucking  _nice_ at first, since he was  _eight._ And three years later, bam- Suddenly he's fucking  _there_. Suddenly Max just looks at him  _once_  and he's having a fucking panic attack in David's goddamn living room! The memories just came flooding back, and without any distraction nearby to help him repress them, they flowed easily, hitting the kid one by one. And not seeming to miss a single fucking detail. Those three days, locked up in Damion's house. Forced to be some kind of fucking toy for the man, some goddamn  _sex_  slave or whatever the fuck Damion had decided he was.

Max shook his head and forced himself to go still, burying his face into his hands and trying desperately to ignore the thoughts swimming in his head. He tried to focus on something else, tried to focus… He heard David and Gwen's muffled voices as they busied themselves with the groceries, putting the food away. He heard the cabinets and fridge opening and shutting. Heard drawers sliding open and shut. The noises weren't enough of a distraction. He had to go. He had to get out of there. He had to fucking go. Somewhere. Anywhere. Where could he go? Where did he go when he needed a break from the world? A break from everything, from everyone? Where did he go when he just needed to fucking forget?

_Kyle._

_Gang._

His brain supplied the answer before he even registered it, and his feet were moving before he could stop himself. He threw the door open and rushed out, not even bothering to shut it behind him. Luckily for him, he'd memorized the way from David's house to Kyle's, and from there it was just a straight path to the gang base. He didn't care about anything else at that moment. He needed to get high, drunk - He'd do fucking ecstasy at that point, and that was fucking saying something because he  _hated_ ecstasy. The cool air hit his face, allowing him a little more relief, seeming to open his lungs a little bit. His tightened throat relaxed, finally deciding to allow him to breathe, much to the kid's relief.

Max didn't think about it. He just walked. Or, ran. But he wasn't exactly full-out racing down the street, he was just… Walking at a slightly faster pace than necessary. He easily swerved around any people, avoiding anyone who even so much as looked his way for the smallest of seconds. He didn't dare look at anyone, didn't dare meet their eyes, just kept to himself. He was always on edge walking down the street after what had happened, but he just reminded himself not to trust anybody else. He was young and easily manipulated back then. It wouldn't happen again.

Max exhaled slowly in relief when he turned onto a familiar street; Not his street, but one he'd walked down several times to get back home, or to Kyle's, or simply to the gang base. The kid slowly let himself relax, at least slightly. He ducked his head and hunched his shoulders up a bit as he walked on, sighing.

And then he absolutely freaked out when someone grabbed his shoulder.

The kid froze in his tracks for just a second, feeling his heart sink down to his stomach, his blood run cold. And then he whirled around, shoving the hand off of him and preparing to fight for all he was worth. However, when that pale hand rose slightly, the kid reeled back, going from defensive to submissive in just a second. Even though that hand didn't come back down toward him, staying up as if to show the kid it meant no harm. It took Max a few seconds to calm himself, his mint green eyes focusing on the hand warily, then up to the man it belonged to.

_David._

_Of fucking course._

"Fuck's sake," Max huffed, inhaling slowly and letting the breath out rather sharply in a huff, spinning around and continuing to walk. Rather than insist on Max coming back, David simply rushed forward to fall into step with him easily, walking beside him without hesitation. Max just ducked his head and looked away, shoving his hands into his pockets and gritting his teeth. Why couldn't David just leave him the fuck alone for  _one_ goddamn second and let him  _think_?

Wait, wasn't he doing this to stop thinking?  _Agh, whatever!_

"It's nice outside," David mumbled, and Max could still feel his gaze on him. The kid didn't look up, glancing ahead briefly and taking another turn, this time onto his own street. He seemed to relax faintly once he did somehow, fixing his gaze on Kyle's house briefly. All the lights were off; Kyle's window was open. If Kyle was there, his window would be shut and his light would be on. Good, he was at the base. All Max needed right then was to chill with his best friend, get high, drunk, whatever the fuck he could to just get rid of all the horrible, twisting emotions inside. He was eleven years old, and… Ha, he really was a drug addict.  _Congratulations, Ryan, you were fucking right all along._

"Where are we going?" David continued, still blinking down at Max. The eleven year old just sighed and continued on, grinding his teeth together silently. He didn't want to talk. Not to David. Not to anyone. He just wanted to  _stop_. David seemed to understand that, thankfully, and he lapsed into silence after just a few moments, the two walking quietly. Eventually, though, Max did seem to relax. He knew it was fucking stupid to let his guard down, but if David was going to do anything, being tense wasn't exactly gonna stop it from happening. What was the point in fighting anymore? Max had given up fighting his father and Alex a long time ago, why was it so different with David?

 _Aw, hell no. I don't need more shit to think about._ Max turned down onto the last street, this one completely dark. Even the streetlamps were blown, leaving absolutely no light in the dark street. Max came to a quiet halt, blinking and letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. David seemed to tense a bit beside him, and Max spared him a brief glance before turning ahead again. Finally, though, he did suck in a sharp, soft breath and spoke.

"If you're coming with me, nobody else needs to know about any of the shit that's going to happen. You keep everything you see or hear to yourself. If you can't do that, you might as well turn around and leave now." The last thing he needed was David spilling all the gang's secrets to anyone he knew. Especially the police - They already had the cops on them, they didn't need any more shit than they already had. There was a long moment of silence; Max had to look to make sure David was still there. And he was, staring down at the kid silently as he debated.

"I won't tell anyone. But I'm staying with you, Max." David eventually mumbled. His voice was soft, faint hesitance in his tone, but decisive and determined for the most part. Max nodded and continued down the dark street, only pausing when he reached a particular building. He didn't say anything else after this, simply dug his hand into his pocket and closed his fingers around a small key, tugging it out and unlocking the door. The lights from inside spilled out instantly as he shouldered the door open and walked inside, gesturing for David to shut it behind him. Once the adult did, Max locked it back quickly and headed straight for the stairs, not looking at anything else.

He was just glad David wasn't questioning anything. Max appreciated that, appreciated the silence. He probably wouldn't be getting much of that once he actually got to the basement, though. The kid just pocketed the key he'd been holding and pushed the door open with his foot, easily leaping past the last two stairs and landing easily in the room. David followed carefully, once more resting a hand on his shoulder. This time, Max didn't jump, but he did shrug him off, sending him an annoyed look before glancing around for Kyle.

The base was pretty simple - The main part, at least. Everyone had helped to fix it up a little. There were a few pool tables near one of the corners, and some kids crowded around playing. There was also a small bar on one side of the room, the shelves behind the counter stocked with alcohol. A few others sat there, too, drinking and laughing. Not Kyle, though. No, Kyle was in another corner. This corner had a large blanket spread out and a few pillows thrown down onto it, cigarette packs and lighters scattered around on the blanket and even a bowl or two lying about. Kyle was stretched out on the blanket with one bowl in his hand, taking a hit and flipping through a magazine.

"W… Wow…" David whispered beside Max, snapping the kid out of his thoughts. The eleven year old smirked a bit despite himself, faint amusement sparking in his gaze as he left the man's side to head toward his best friend, pretty much throwing himself down beside him. Kyle glanced up briefly, throwing a bright grin to the kid.

"M&M," he said cheerfully, obviously happy to see the kid. He pushed himself to sit up, flipping the magazine shut and leaning back beside Max. "Didn't think I'd see you here today, buddy," Kyle chuckled a little. Max just sighed, the tension draining from him. It wasn't hard to relax around Kyle. His best friend was one of the most relaxed people that he knew. Most of the time, at least. When he was high. He was still somewhat energetic, but that was mainly when the two were alone.

Max just gave Kyle a one-shouldered shrug in response and eyed the bowl in his friend's hand. Sure, there were others around, filled and ready to be smoked, but Max knew his best friend only smoked the good shit. Usually Max didn't care - Whatever got him high was fine with him - But right then he needed something to take the edge off. And Kyle usually got the chill-out shit, like he'd said earlier.

Kyle studied him for a moment, his smile dropping ever so slightly. He leaned forward a bit, crossing his arms over his legs and tilting his head at Max. "Tough day?" Max just nodded at him briefly, still eyeing the bowl. Eventually, Kyle did sit up, silently wrapping an arm around Max and tugging him into a small hug. Max let out a low groan - He was honestly so fucking done with the sappy-feely shit, but he did bury his face into Kyle's shoulder and lean into the embrace briefly, wrapping his arm around Kyle to return the hug before pulling back. "S'all good, pal," Kyle ruffled his hair lightly before finally handing over the bowl, which Max took gratefully.

"M- Max," David had followed him over and was standing near the blanket uncertainly, shifting slightly on his feet as he looked down at the kid. Max finally glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow at the man silently. "I really… I don't think you should…"

"Shut up, camp man," Max finally muttered, rubbing his eyes and sitting back with a sigh. "I need this." He didn't wait for a response from David, but his Uncle didn't protest further, reluctantly settling down on the floor, beside the blanket. Max simply took a hit from the bowl, pulling it down and coughing a bit as he blew out some of the smoke, exhaling softly before taking another hit instantly. It took at least a full minute of this before he started to feel it.

And holy shit, did it feel good. It was like the negativity slipped away for the time being, the bad thoughts easily retreating to the back of his mind and leaving him alone for the moment. And thank god for that. The eleven year old relaxed, pressing his fingers into his eyes for a second. "Fucking hell, thank god…"

"You good, buddy?" Kyle reached out and eased the bowl out of his fingers; Max let him take it, leaning back and covering his face with one hand for a moment, nodding faintly with a soft, slow sigh. Now it felt better. A little less clear, but it still felt good. The kid ran his fingers through his hair before turning to David, who was watching him with uncertain concern. Max wondered for a second if it was a good idea to bring him down here. But he brushed it off - David had followed him, he'd wound himself into this.

"Sorry," Max mumbled, simply giving a one-shouldered shrug at David and leaning back. The man gave him a faintly surprised look, and Max sighed softly and explained, "'bout earlier. N' the store."

"Oh," David blinked, his eyes brightening with curious confusion as he eyed the kid. "Oh, don't worry about that, Max, it's alright," he assured, giving the kid one of his famous, cheerful little smiles and leaning forward a bit. "Are you okay?"

Max opened his mouth to respond, but his gaze drifted past David and the words died on his tongue instantly as he focused on the sixteen year old walking up to them, his dark blue hair slicked back and his narrowed green eyes fixed on David curiously. A lazy little grin appeared on Max's face, lifting one hand to wave. "Tommy, ey,"

"Heya Machine Gun," Tommy nodded in his direction, raising an eyebrow at David as the man turned to him. Tommy's expression remained completely stone-cold, not a hint of emotion on his face as he settled down beside David, not too close, giving the man his space. The boy crossed his legs and leaned forward a little bit, looking David up and down for a moment. "You're new, and probably over twenty. Care to tell me why you brought an adult here, Machine Gun? Not that I'm against it, but it seems like a very not-you thing to do." He narrowed his eyes at David, considering him for a moment. "Who are you?"

"Uh…" David stared at Tommy for a second, obviously somewhat intimidated, which made Max laugh a bit despite himself. Yeah, David better be scared of Tommy. The boy was fucking terrifying, and this was coming from Max, who wasn't usually scared of anyone who wasn't an adult. Tommy just had that effect on people. Probably because he was a gang leader, and gang leaders had that…  _Vibe._ "I… I'm David…?"

"David?" Tommy echoed, narrowing his eyes slightly. His lips tugged downward briefly, then suddenly tipped up. It wasn't quite a smile, but it was the beginnings of one. Tommy didn't really smile, actually. Max didn't know if he ever had, or ever would. Tommy's eyes slid toward him, eyebrows quirking slightly. " _The_ David?"

" _The_  David." Kyle leaned forward a bit, giving Tommy one of his usually goofy grins while Max just smirked smugly and looked over at David, who now seemed  _beyond_ confused at this point. "And get this, T, M&M here is actually  _staying_ with the Lorax! I'm not quite sure why, but I'm assuming it has something to do with Ry-guy and the Queen of all things sunshine and rainbow-y? I dunno, but either way Max is staying with David now and  _oh my god_ did I tell you that he's his  _Uncle-_ "

"Kyle."

"Yes boss?" Kyle blinked, perking up a little bit and giving Tommy an innocent smile. Max just grabbed the bowl back and took another hit while Kyle was distracted - It wasn't like he was using it anyway, and to be honest he didn't need any more weed right then.

"Shut up." Tommy said simply, his voice devoid of any emotion. Kyle huffed softly and stuck his tongue out at Tommy before sitting back, lapsing into silence. Max snickered a little bit despite himself. Tommy and Kyle honestly amused him - Mostly because it was just so blatantly obvious that they belonged together. Not that Max would ever tell either of them that. Kyle would start flirting with Tommy like crazy. And Max wasn't sure how Tommy would react to being flirted with. "Anyway, congratulations, Max. Glad you can finally spend some proper time away from that house. And with your idol, no less."

"Idol?" David finally spoke up again, his green gaze darting to Max. Max just gave him an innocent look and shrugged faintly in response, scowling at Kyle as the bowl was once more taken from him so that Kyle could get a hit. "Huh. Well, I didn't… I don't think that I'm…"

"Yeah, s'real good that you're away from Ry-guy now! Oh- Wait," Kyle paused, coughing out some smoke and turning to Max with a curious look, his blue eyes lighting up slightly as he turned to his best friend. Max kept his glare kept on the bowl for a second before looking up at Kyle questioningly. Kyle leaned forward and lowered his voice slightly so that only Max could hear him, glancing toward David briefly. "He knows 'bout it, right?"

"Yeah, he knows. S'cool," Max replied, easily taking the bowl since Kyle was leaned toward him and taking another hit. Kyle squinted at him and leaned back, mumbling something about "weed thieves" and crossing his arms like a little, pouting child. Max just giggled softly despite himself, ignoring the way David's head turned toward him in pure surprise at the sound. Max couldn't really help it; When he got high, it was like he snapped into being the kid he was. Because all his senses and logic were clouded by the drugs. And he  _was_ only eleven, after all. "Apparently we're doin' something about it? I dunno. We were gonna try and get the tape recorders from my place, but the door was locked, so we gotta think of another way to get in."

"Ohhh, that's why you were there," Kyle blinked, as if the missing part to whatever puzzle he'd been putting together in his head had finally clicked into place. Max nodded and took another hit before reluctantly passing the bowl back to him, allowing the older boy to take a few hits as well. "Yeah, g'luck with that, dude bro. Ry-guy's prolly not taking his chances now, and I doubt you're gonna get into that house with him around. And if he's leavin' the door locked…"

"I know," Max hummed, resting his head on his hands for a second. His mint green eyes strayed toward David briefly, quirking an eyebrow at the man and staring at him curiously for a moment. David just stared back, a faint look of confusion on his face now as he watched the kid. It was honestly amusing. Max then let his gaze flicker to Tommy, who now looked thoughtful and brooding as usual. Only… More thoughtful and brooding? There was much more emotion on his face than usual. That is to say, there was  _some_ emotion on his face, which was rare in itself. "'Sup Tom?"

"Don't worry about it, Machine Gun." Tommy replied after a few moments, standing up and dusting himself off. "Well, you three have fun. David, make yourself at home. A friend of Max's is a friend of ours." He raised an eyebrow at David. "Don't get too high, Machine Gun. Kyle…" He narrowed his eyes at Kyle, who had lit up when his name was spoken. "You do you." And with that Tommy turned and walked away, heading over to a few kids sprawled out in front of the TV on a couch. Tommy grabbed the remote and shut the TV off, ignoring the protests and gesturing for them to follow him as he headed for one of the connected rooms.

Max tilted his head as he watched him go, looking slightly curious. Kyle leaned forward a bit beside him, his head right beside Max's and his gaze fixed after Tommy. Finally, the fifteen year old spoke up, his goofy grin seeming to widen slightly. "He likes me~"

"You wish," Max giggled again, shoving Kyle away with a playful grin and grabbing the bowl again, taking another hit. He blew the smoke out carefully and turned to David, who was smiling faintly now as he watched. Max was honestly taken aback by that, since David obviously didn't approve of the smoking, so the kid checked over his shoulder to ensure David was actually looking at him before turning back to the man, blinking slightly in confusion and squinting at his Uncle through slightly narrowed eyes. "What?"

"You," David replied quietly, his small smile widening slightly at the kid's expression. Max just blinked, once more taken aback as David continued. "You seem happy."

"Mm, I  _am_ happy. I think." Max narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing away for a moment. Then he set the bowl down beside him, and, completely fucking lacking the common sense he usually had when he was sober, he did something he would never,  _ever fucking do_  without being high, drunk, or both: He pushed himself up and crawled forward a bit, pulling himself up into David's lap. He felt the man tense a bit beneath him in pure shock, but Max didn't say anything for a moment, simply wrapping his arms around David and snuggling his head against his Uncle's chest. "I like hugs,"

"...Wow," David exhaled softly, slowly wrapping his arms around the kid. Max just buried his face into David's shirt with a soft, content sigh, digging his fingers into the fabric loosely as he snuggled up against his Uncle. Yeah, he definitely wouldn't be doing this if he was sober. And unfortunately for him, he was only high, meaning he'd remember this all too clearly when the effects of the weed wore off. "Wow, you are… High, okay," David chuckled a bit, resting his head on Max's for a second. "I didn't know you liked hugs. You usually don't," he teased.

"Mmmmmm'yeah," Max conceded, yawning softly and pulling his head back a bit to squint up at David briefly, tilting his head to the side slightly. "That's my master plan. Y'don't know what I like, so you can't use it against me," he stuck his tongue out briefly. "N' I usually don't like hugs, 'cause I don't really like bein' touched that much. But this is okay," he added, putting his head back down. "You won' hurt me. I think."

"I won't hurt you, Max," David assured him, sighing and gently rubbing the kid's shoulder. Max hummed briefly in acknowledgement, giving another yawn. "I think we should head back home though, kiddo. Your mom should be back any minute, and you're obviously exhausted."

"I don't wanna sleep, though," Max mumbled, letting out a small whine of protest at the thought and burying his face deeper into David's shirt, eyes squeezing shut. The darkness behind his shut eyelids felt nice and welcoming; He could easily let himself slip off right then, but… "I don' wanna have another nightmare."

There was silence for a moment before David spoke again, his voice still soft and soothing, but edged with slight worry all the same. "I'll be right here, Max. I'll wake you up if you have a nightmare, okay?" He assured the kid, brushing Max's curls from his face. Max cracked one eye open to peer up at him warily, and David chuckled and continued, "how about this, we'll stay here until you fall asleep, and then I'll carry you home. I won't let you have a nightmare." The kid continued to stare until David cocked his head to the side and smiled innocently. "I  _promise_. Okay, kiddo?"

"Mmmmmmm…" Max narrowed his eyes at him briefly, then sighed, his expression softening. Truthfully, he was tired, and he was going to complain to Kyle later about the weed being a little too "chill" and making him exhausted as hell. Or maybe it wasn't the weed, maybe it was all the events of that day just piling up. "...No, I don' wanna sleep," he finally mumbled. "M'hungry."

"Well, let's go home and get you something to eat then. How's that sound?" David pressed. Max eventually gave in, but only because he really was hungry and the pancakes from earlier were still fresh in his mind - He could almost taste them now. Yeah, he liked David's cooking. That was one thing that he wasn't ashamed to admit.

At least, while he was high on drugs.

David stood as soon as Max nodded in confirmation, holding the kid close. Honestly, he was so warm and comfortable that Max almost drifted off a bit, exhaustion battling his hunger easily. Still, he managed to crack his eyes open and mumble a "goodbye" to Kyle, who laughingly told him to: "Get some fucking sleep before you go into a coma, M&M," Max merely stuck his tongue out at the older boy before another yawn interrupted what he'd been about to say. David gave his own quick goodbyes, both to Kyle and to Tommy, who he passed while leaving the basement.

"Lock the door on your way out," Tommy called after them. David hummed in acknowledgement and shut the basement door behind him, already climbing up the steps. Max went silent again, shutting his eyes once more and burying his face halfway into David's shirt, his grip loosening ever so slightly. But David's grip stayed, strong and steady, the arms wrapped around him warm and protective and  _safe_.

Max was asleep before they'd even left the base.


	5. You Don't Have To Be A Prodigy To Be Unique

Max luckily wasn't jolted awake this time around, no nightmare tugging him violently out of his easy slumber. Instead, he woke slower than usual, almost reluctant to open his eyes and leave behind the peacefulness of his dreams. It was odd for him, not having a nightmare - Actually wanting to stay asleep, rather than wake up and face the day. But the darkness had been so comforting for him, so easy and sweet and it felt so  _nice_ and he wanted nothing more than to return to it, to curl back up, pull the blanket back over his head, snuggle back into the pillow and fall asleep again. He wondered, just for a split second, if maybe he  _could_ do that - It was only Sunday, right? No school to attend. And no Ryan to jerk him out of bed. No chores to get done. Nothing to do. He could sleep in. Despite the thoughts, though, Max rolled over on his back, confused to find himself in a bed. He half expected to wake up on the couch.

The memories from last night hit him easily. Well, not really hit him… They swarmed in slowly, surrounding him, cutting off almost all his senses. The boy rubbed his eyes, staring up at the ceiling silently for a moment. He'd completely embarrassed himself in front of David, hadn't he? Going into "kid mode", as he called it when he got high. It wasn't hard to go into kid mode. Anything that shut off his "programming" instantly turned him into the eleven year old he was, the eleven year old he should have been. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing was still left undecided.

The kid sighed and pushed himself up, taking a look around. He was in some sort of guest room in David's house, oddly enough. He wasn't going to get used to this. A couch was fine. Even if this bed was comfortable as all hell. He didn't want any special treatment from the man. The boy kicked his feet out, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and pushing himself to sit up completely, gently leaning himself forward and propping himself up with both hands on the bed on either side of him, staring down at the floor for a moment. He was honestly dreading any interaction with David because of the night before. All he could do was hope his Uncle didn't bring it up, but he wasn't getting his hopes high about that one. David was all for the touchy-feely shit - Max had no doubt he'd take this as a chance for another one of his dumbass chick-flick moments. Which left him only one choice - Max had to cut it off before David had the chance to get too deep into it. If he even mentioned anything about yesterday, the eleven year old would  _scream_.

Okay, maybe not scream. But he definitely wasn't going to let any feely moments progress. He had some dignity!

Unfortunately, the room had no clock that Max could see easily, and he only briefly let his eyes scan the room, deciding against going too far to search for it. He knew where one was; He could leave the room and walk down the hall to the kitchen to check the time. And he had to get to the bathroom anyway. He eased himself off the bed, looking down for a moment when his foot hit something soft; A bag. A few bags, littered around the floor - The clothes they'd bought yesterday. Max sighed, running his fingers through his curly hair. He didn't really want to use anything David had bought him, not wanting to feel like he owed the man anything for his kindness, but it wasn't like he could make his own clothes magically fucking appear. So, with reluctance, he ripped open one of the bags and picked out some clothes to change into before leaving the room and heading down the hall to the bathroom. As great as a shower sounded right then, he decided against it, unsure as to whether or not he could just do that without asking first. So he just decided to change.

He left the bandages on as he slipped his shirt off, pulling on the new one. It was a little big for him, but comfortable all the same - He hated himself for thinking that - A simple grey T-shirt. The outfit in itself was pretty simple; Grey shirt, black pants. Max wondered for a second if this made him look emo and edgy - The thought in itself had Max laughing slightly. Maybe he was a little edgy, but he wasn't sure about the emo part. He shrugged his hoodie back on, grabbing the discarded clothing and leaving the bathroom to put them away, choosing to dump them into a pile with some other dirty clothes. He still had to do the laundry.

 _Ah, ah, no you don't. You don't do anything. David said so._ That little sing-song voice in his head hummed, the boy's eyes rolling sideways slightly in annoyance as he headed back down the hall to the kitchen, rolling the sleeves of his hoodie down over his wrists. David already knew about the bandages, but it wasn't like Max was going to show them off just because of that. The kid sighed, running his fingers through his curls again in a futile attempt to straighten them out as he ducked into the kitchen, stopping short when he saw David there, sitting at the table with a cup in front of him. The boy squinted slightly at him, then turned his head to check the time.

_12:16._

_The fuck?_ Max stared blankly for a few moments, taken aback. He never slept until twelve. He was always up by seven. Or earlier. The boy went silent then, processing, as David turned to him, his expression lighting up.

"Oh, good morning Max!"

"What the fuck," Max managed, pointing at the numbers on the stove and turning back to David with wide eyes. "That- That's not right. It's- I don't… I don't sleep until twelve," he choked out a small laugh, shaking his head and rubbing a hand down his face, completely fucking confused at this point. David seemed just as bewildered, cocking his head at the kid and raising an eyebrow.

"You were tired, kiddo. Tuckered yourself out yesterday." David said gently, crossing his arms and leaning forward a bit to smile at him, not moving from his seat at the table. Max bit back a growl - an actual, inhuman, dog-like growl, and stormed past him, grabbing a cup off the counter and heading straight for the coffee maker, which luckily was still half-full. Since Max sincerely doubted David drank coffee and the cup he had in front of him was filled with orange juice, Max guessed he had his mother to think for that. The kid went silent for a while, pouring some of the coffee into the cup before putting the pot back, lifting the cup up to his lips and gulping down a few swallows. Either the way it burned his tongue and throat snapped his exhaustion away like a rubber band, or the caffeine took immediate effect, but Max was awake in seconds.

"Well, shit," Max coughed after a moment, rubbing some of the coffee off the side of his mouth before it could drip down his chin. He turned back to David, crossing over and tugging the chair out with his foot, setting the cup down on the table to climb up and sit down with a sigh. "Glad I'm not at my place, then. Dad would've fucking killed me if I slept this late."

David smiled warily at him, shaking his head slightly and taking a sip of his orange juice. Max took the chance to swallow down a few more mouthfuls of coffee, relief sinking in with each gulp. He didn't care what Kyle said, coffee was the best drug. "Well, it's Sunday, so I don't see anything wrong with sleeping in," David chirped after a few moments. "Are you hungry? You didn't get dinner last night, you were kinda just out before we got to the house." He chuckled a little. Max sighed, resting his head in his hands with his elbows on the table, staring down into the already half-empty coffee cup.

He was still getting used to the whole being able to eat thing. "Yeah, I guess." He mumbled, mostly because he wasn't in the mood to argue at that particular moment, and David probably wasn't going to drop it until he was eating something. Besides, David was right - He hadn't gotten dinner, not that he wasn't used to it, but he was a little hungry. "Pancakes?" He glanced up briefly. Because shit, David made good pancakes. Not something he'd ever admit out loud, but it was something he may as well stop denying to himself.

"You got it," David smiled, leaping up and walking past him. Max ducked his head a little on instinct, half-expecting his hair to be messed up per usual, but David didn't touch him. The kid spared him a surprised glance but decided against questioning it, shrugging a bit to himself and instead deciding to finish off the rest of his coffee as David set to work on the pancakes. The kid let his eyes slip back to the coffee maker, then to the sink, then back to the coffee maker, debating. "Also, your mother wanted me to let you know she contacted your school and said you'd be out for about a week. We talked it over and both decided it was best, just in case your father dropped by and… Well, you know," David gestured slightly. "And since he still has custody over you…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Max squinted at him slightly, eventually making his decision and sliding out of the chair, grabbing the cup and heading back over to the coffee maker. A week of no school. Not that it really mattered- It was only about two weeks left before school was out for the summer. And then Max would probably be back at Camp Campbell. That thought was usually accompanied by irritation - Now it was only slight relief. Camp had always been his safe place, after all. And what he needed most was his safe place. "Yeah, I'm down with that, camp man." He paused, silent for a moment as he poured himself some more coffee. "So, uh, Neil and Nikki are gonna be back at camp this summer, right?"

"Oh, yes," David replied; Max didn't have to turn to know the idiot was grinning - He could practically hear it in his voice. "Don't worry, kiddo, their parents signed them up together. Everyone from last year's gonna be there, and I think some new kids, too,"

 _Everyone from last year_. Max tried not to smile at that, his thoughts immediately moving from Nikki and Neil to focus on Nerris. He went silent, biting down on his lower lip for a moment as he thought of the girl. Back when he'd first joined the camp, she'd been one of his best friends. The two had hit it off immediately. She'd made his first two years at camp complete, pure bliss - Everything about her was perfect. She was sweet, adorable, kind, caring… It wasn't hard for the boy to like her. He'd liked her from the start. And he still did, as much as he pretended not to. A part of him knew it wasn't fair to her, but he wasn't a complete bitch to her - At least, not when they were alone. Around other people, Max wouldn't hesitate to snap at her like he did everything else. When they finally found some alone time? He apologized instantly.

She was one of his best friends, after all. Her and Kyle, they were the only two he could actually completely trust in this dumb, fucked up world. What kind of friend would Max be if he let her think he hated her? A pretty bad friend. After everything she'd done for him, too… No way in hell was he going to be cold to her like he was everyone else. He had a hard enough time keeping it up with Nikki and Neil.

Besides, Nerris was the only one who knew why he changed. Even  _Kyle_ didn't know, and that was saying something. Nerris was the only one that Max told literally  _everything_ to. The boy sighed, looking down for a moment and tipping the coffee around in the cup silently, considering for a moment. He wished it was all easier, honestly. He wished it was easier to be who he wanted to be.

* * *

 

" _I'm Nerris,"_

_Max blinked, considering the girl in front of him for a moment. The six year old shifted his feet lightly, shrinking down into his hoodie a little bit and letting his mint green eyes flicker over her. She was taller than him, curly brown hair sticking to her face and her wide blue eyes sparkling like two beautiful little diamonds. Her smile was sweet, calming… The boy found himself relaxing before he'd even known it, all the tension draining from him. Usually he didn't get along with kids his age - They were hyper, energetic, loud, crazy, sometimes kind of mean… But she didn't seem to be like that._

_The kid opened his mouth slightly, quickly reaching out to take the hand Nerris had extended toward him, bringing his gaze back to her face. He smiled kind of nervously, chewing on the inside of his cheek briefly as he took a deep breath and spoke. "I'm… Max," he mumbled quietly, blinking slightly at her. For the longest time, all he could do was stare. At those sparkling eyes, that sweet little smile. He should probably say something. Something other than his fucking name. Come on, Max, say something…_

" _You're really pretty."_

_Something other than that!_

* * *

 

"You okay, pal?"

Max blinked, turning his head around slightly to look toward David, who was flipping one of the pancakes over, humming softly to himself. The eleven year old looked back down, lifting the cup back to his lips and taking another sip, lifting his free hand to give David a pretty half-assed thumbs up. "All good." He mumbled when he'd swallowed the scorching coffee. Okay, he'd completely blown their first meeting. As least he was calm enough to pull it off with Neil and Nikki in the beginning, though.

"Glad to hear it," David chuckled a little bit, scooping three of the pancakes up onto a plate, stacking them up and setting it on the counter before doing the same to the last three, turning the stove off. Max dropped his gaze, not really interested, and brought the cup back to his lips, taking another sip. For some reason, that memory had just brought up another memory. This one of him and Kyle, the two of them just chilling in the treehouse. Max had been about seven at that point, and was basically ranting to Kyle about everything about the camp.

When he'd brought up Nerris, his best friend's smile had widened considerably. All that was said when Max asked was; " _Iiiiiiii ship it M &M." _And when Max demanded that he clarified, all Kyle did was change the subject.

Max almost choked on his coffee as the memory hit him, like an unexpected tidal wave washing over him. Back then, he'd just brushed it off. Now? Now he felt his cheeks flush, ears burning almost as much as his tongue was from the steaming hot coffee. The boy exhaled, softly and slowly, and narrowed his eyes. No, no, Kyle was just an idiot. There was absolutely no way in hell that Max liked Nerris  _like that_  - Absolutely no way. The kid was sticking to that. Nerris was a friend, nothing more.

He could not have a crush on one of his best friends, for fucks sake. He wasn't even sure Nerris even remotely understood love like that at all. She was so oblivious. So naive. And trusting. And sweet. And kind. And adorable. And beautiful. And… And oh, god, Max had it bad, didn't he? He really, actually fucking had a  _crush_ on this girl? Max clicked his teeth together silently, taking a deep breath and pulling back a little bit when David set the plate down in front of him, dropping his gaze to the pancakes. It was the same as yesterday. They had a face. Max squinted slightly, poking the pancakes with the fork lightly, glad for the distraction from his overly complicated feelings.

"David, do we need to talk about this?" Max finally asked, looking up at David and pointing his fork at the pancakes. He got nothing more than a laugh in response as his Uncle settled down at the table, shrugging at the kid as he dug into his food. Max narrowed his eyes at him for a brief second before shrugging and stabbing the fork through the pancakes, easily slicing a piece off of one of them and popping it into his mouth without hesitation. It was pretty hard not to smile at the taste - He understood Natalie a bit more, pancakes were quickly becoming his favorite food now. Or, at least, David's pancakes.

He thought back to the time Kyle's mother had made him pancakes, too. They weren't nearly as good. No disrespect to Kyle's mom and all, she was a very sweet lady - Or at least, he thought so, he hadn't seen her since he was like six so his memory of her wasn't that good. In any case, the pancakes from then hadn't been nearly as good as these. Had they? He thought back, trying to remember that day a little more clearly. It took him a few seconds, the memory fuzzy and faded. But another memory from that day stood out loud and clear; Max blinked as it came flooding back.

* * *

 

" _Thank you for the pancakes, Mrs. Robertson," Max chirped, sliding out of his chair and rubbing the back of his hand over his mouth. He hadn't eaten them all; He'd taken a few bites before sliding his plate over to Kyle when the woman had left the room. His friend sucked them up like a vacuum cleaner, much to Max's amusement and slight horror, but either way he laughed all the same. The kid honestly hadn't been very hungry - He'd had a poptart that morning just before he'd came over, and that was usually enough to satisfy him for a while, unless he was high - Which he wasn't, yet, at least._

" _Of course, dear," Kyle's mother chirped, pinching Max's cheek lightly. The kid tried his best not to wince, rubbing his face as she walked past him and throwing a glance at Kyle, who gave a shrug and a cheeky little smile his way, prompting Max to stick his tongue out at him. "I'm glad you enjoyed it!" She paused at the counter, glancing back at the boys and smiling warmly, thick golden curls bouncing against her face. "So, who wants pie?"_

" _PIE!" Kyle screamed, shooting up in his chair. Or, rather, shooting back. Unfortunately for Kyle, the chair tipped back unsteadily; Max let out a soft yelp that was intended to be his best friend's name, watching the grin on Kyle's face turn into an instant "oh fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck" look before Kyle crashed back completely, skidding sharply across the kitchen floor until his back hit one of the cabinets. Max was frozen as Kyle's mom shrieked and quickly rushed over to her son, who shook his head in a daze._

_And then, like the little fucking masochist Kyle probably was, he began laughing. Max sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers as Kyle's mom mumbled something about a "first-aid kid" and rushed out of the room, the two hearing her footsteps retreating up the stairs. Kyle continued to laugh, staying on the floor until Max crossed forward to help him up, giving the ten year old a look._

" _You'd better hush it," Max told him, the childish demeanor dropping as soon as the adult was out of the room. He tapped his fingers against Kyle's lips warningly before turning away, wandering over to the counter and tugging a chair up to it, climbing up to get a better look at the pie. It smelled good. "Or else she's gonna know that you're high,"_

" _I am not!" Kyle gasped, pretending to sound offended. He followed the kid over, climbing up on the chair beside him and peeking forward at the pie with a grin. "Apple pie. It's the best." He told Max, reaching forward and dipping a finger into the whipped cream that was swirled over the pie._

" _Pumpkin pie is better," Max watched him, immediately slapping his best friend's hand away from the baked treat. "Dude, the fuck? She's gonna be mad."_

" _Nah she won't," Kyle popped his finger into his mouth, licking the whipped cream off eagerly. "I'll probably get scolded, but she'll forget about it and either make another one or give us this one anyway. She's chill." He reached out to scoop up a little more, grinning. "Try some, it's fun."_

" _Yeah, I bet it's fun to be disobedient when you don't have to worry about getting spanked," Max complained, once more smacking his hand away. Spanked was an understatement in his case, but Kyle knew that, no reason to go in-depth about it and explain that by "spanked" he meant "beaten until he couldn't breathe". "Dude, cut it out."_

" _No,"_

" _Yes, and keep your voice down,"_

" _No!"_

" _Kyle…"_

" _Maxwell!"_

_Max blinked at him once, a little taken aback by that. Kyle never called him Maxwell - Hardly anybody did except his parents and Alex. And he didn't really like being called that. For some reason, though, hearing it from Kyle didn't scare him nearly as much as hearing it from anyone else would. It just kind of annoyed him. The kid puffed his cheeks out a little, thinking for a moment, then suddenly pushed Kyle's hands away and grabbed the pie._

" _Whatcha dooooooooin'?" Kyle sounded faintly nervous now, obviously kind of afraid that he'd messed up by calling Max "Maxwell". Max didn't respond, ensuring he had a good grip on the pie. This was so much easier with his best friend right beside him, and, turning to Kyle with a blank look, he met his gaze briefly before simply shoving the pie in his face. He winced a little bit when whipped cream splattered everywhere, letting go and watching the pie tin crash to the floor._

_It was one of the few moments he actually felt like a kid; As soon as he saw his best friend's pie-covered face, it was over - Max practically fell off of the chair laughing. And once the shock ebbed away, Kyle joined in almost immediately. They laughed until they were pretty much crying - Until Kyle's mother came back into the kitchen and actually shrieked when she saw both boys on the floor, laughing their asses off and Kyle covered in pie._

_She wasn't pleased._

* * *

 

Max tried not to laugh out loud at the memory, biting down on his tongue and scooping up another forkful of pancake into his mouth. He was surprised that he'd managed to finish off most of it, considering he honestly hadn't been that hungry at the start. But he didn't pay too much mind to it, fighting back the smile trying to force its way onto his face.  _Maybe I was a kid at one point,_ he thought, amusement raging now. It had felt kind of good back then, kind of carefree. Back before he'd changed, before he got… Scared of everything, of everyone. Before Damion, before it all.

"You seem happy," David commented, and Max glanced up, a bit startled. David had finished off his pancakes and was now just watching the kid, a small grin on his face now. Max's lips twitched upwards slightly, the amusement only growing for some reason. If someone had told him about one or two years ago that seeing that stupid, overexcited grin would make Max want to smile a little himself, he would have laughed in their face.

"Shut up," Was Max's only reply - It only made the grin widen, much to both his amusement and faint frustration. He finished off his own pancakes with ease, once more feeling full to the point where it kind of hurt, but he didn't pay too much mind to it. The feeling was kind of comfortable, if he was being completely honest about it. He wasn't used to it, but he wasn't particularly complaining about it either. "So, did you get the key from Mom or do we have to break in to my house to get the tape recorders?"

"Uh, no," David suddenly shot up in his seat, and Max quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly as the man quickly rushed around the table, grabbing the plates and setting them in the sink. "But that reminds me, I need to make a quick phone call. I'll only be a few minutes. You can go ahead and uh, watch TV or something, alright kiddo?" He paused, reaching out slightly like he was going to ruffle Max's hair again, but for whatever reason he stopped and pulled back rather quickly, much to the kid's confusion. "I'll be right back," he assured.

Max stared at him silently for a few moments, finishing off his second cup of coffee and sliding out of his seat with a shrug, walking over to put the empty cup into the sink. It was weird of David to have pulled back like that - Normally he wouldn't hesitate. The kid brushed the thought off, though, deciding he should be glad for it, it meant his hair wasn't being violently attacked and messed up today. "Yeah, okay," he turned toward the living room briefly, narrowing his eyes faintly and looking back at David, who nodded and smiled before quickly leaving the room, probably to head for his office.

Max watched him go, tilting his head slightly and looking around. He debated on doing the dishes, but David had said he would only be a few minutes, so he probably didn't have enough time for that. The kid just sighed and turned away, instead heading for the living room. He watched TV with Kyle and the gang all the time, so luckily for him it wasn't anything new. He grabbed the remote and pulled himself onto the couch, shifting a little to kind of lay on his side against the arm rest and curling his legs up beside him, turning the TV on and flipping through the channels silently.

As curious as he was as to what kind of phone call David needed to make, it wasn't really any of Max's business to pry. Not that it would have stopped him before, had they been at camp or something, but they weren't at camp. Honestly, the kid was amused as to how easy it was to pick on David at camp, and how difficult it was for him now. Camp really  _was_ his safe place, wasn't it? He wasn't  _scared_ there. Well, the Quartermaster kind of rubbed him the wrong way sometimes, especially after what he'd seen at Spooky Island, but that was something the kid chose not to think about. He did not need to think about old men having weird sex. Sex was already something the kid had negative thoughts on, he didn't need anything else to make that worse.

The eleven year old sighed and leaned back, shifting into a slightly more comfortable position and trying to focus on the TV. It was some show about ponies. Not particularly interesting, but Max didn't complain about it, tilting his head back a little. He only lasted a few minutes into it before he had to change the channel, luckily finding something much more interesting, something he watched a lot. South Park. Perfect. The kid grinned and turned the volume up a little, setting the remote down beside him and resting his head back as he watched. This was something he could probably get used to.

He zoned out for a while as he watched, unable to stop himself from laughing a little at certain points in the show. Something in the back of his mind reminded him that David was still on the phone, and it had been quite some time, but he brushed it off. The man was kind of like Sarah in that case, then - Definitely her brother. The kid shook his head, easily pushing the thoughts away and focusing on the TV once more, tilting his head a bit and humming to himself as he watched, a small smirk appearing on his face. The smirk dropped for a second when he heard someone knock on the front door, though, twisting his head around a bit and reluctantly getting up to answer it, since David was still on the phone.

"Who is it?" Max demanded, not yet opening the door and stopping in front of it with a frown, crossing his arms and feeling glad that David had at least enough common sense to lock the door. His mind raced at this point, wondering who it was. Was it his father? Or Alex? Oh, god, what if it was one of them? Max took in a slow, unsteady breath, but luckily enough he didn't have to wait too long before he got an answer.

"It's Gwen, you little shit. Open up already."

Max debated on just walking away to be a little prick, but he decided against it, shrugging and unlocking the door before pulling it open. He plastered on one of his cocky ass smiles at the woman, who did nothing more than flip him off as she stepped inside, lightly pushing past him. "Where's David?"

"Well, hello to you too, asshole," Max snorted, shutting the door behind her and locking it back quickly before turning to Gwen, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at her, smirk dropping as he shrugged. "He's on the phone." He wandered past her and went back into the living room, falling back onto the couch but not getting comfortable just yet. Gwen followed him into the room instantly, raising an eyebrow at the TV briefly.

"South Park, Max? Really?" Gwen scoffed, falling back to sit on the chair. At first, Max expected her to launch into a lecture about this not being a kids show or something, but then he reminded himself that this was Gwen, and asked himself what the fuck he was thinking just as Gwen said; "Family Guy is much better than this."

"Take it back," Max tossed one of the couch pillows at her; Gwen caught it easily without looking and stuffed it behind her head, causing the child to glare slightly. "Your argument is invalid. South Park's the best." He said stubbornly, crossing his arms and leaning back a bit. "What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" He asked suddenly, raising his eyebrows at the woman curiously. Not that he minded; Gwen was great company for the cynical little pessimist, but he was curious as to why she was  _there_ in the first place.

"Well, if you must know, I'm off Sundays and David invited me over," Gwen retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. Max snorted and sat back, accepting the answer and turning back to the TV. The two went silent, focused on the show, and eventually Max shifted back into his comfortable position, relaxing again with a sigh.  _He really has been on the phone for a while,_ Max thought, narrowing his eyes at the TV briefly.  _Who the hell is he even talking to?_

A few minutes passed before Gwen spoke again, turning away from the TV and focusing on Max again. "So, David told me about your dad and Uncle." She said suddenly, crossing her arms and leaning forward a bit in the chair. Max hummed softly in acknowledgement, not taking his gaze off the TV. Honestly, he didn't expect this conversation to go anywhere. Gwen wasn't really the type to go into a chick-flick moment if she could help it. She was just like him, after all.

He really needed to stop getting his expectations up. "You know, my parents kinda sucked, too." Gwen cleared her throat, sitting back again. Max blinked, turning his head to look at her as the woman continued. "My mom… Well, she didn't really give much of a shit. She just kept to herself. My dad would get pretty drunk though, come home raging mad."

Max stared at her in complete silence for a moment, honestly taken aback. Gwen had never really talked about her parents - Not to him, anyway. In fact, he barely heard about her life beyond Camp Campbell at all, in complete honesty. "Oh." That was all he could say, surprised by the weird, twisting feeling in his chest. "Did he…"

He didn't have to finish that sentence; Gwen nodded, understanding. "Every time, yeah. Sometimes worse, depending on how drunk he was." She added. Max went silent again, the twisting feeling getting worse, a little more painful. "It took me about twelve years to realize that wasn't how life was supposed to be. As soon as I figured it out, though, I bailed."

"You ran away," Max quirked an eyebrow at her. He'd actually never tried running away before. Didn't think it would have worked. Gwen nodded and shrugged, sitting back a little and giving a small grin.

"Yep. Caught the attention of social services, too. I was out of there before I knew it." Gwen paused, staring at the kid. For the first time since… Probably Parents Day, her smile was warm and genuine, her expression soft. "The point is, the bad shit doesn't last forever. It gets better - After a pretty damn long time, but it does. You got nothing to worry about. David's got your back, I got your back, and if needed I can get my baseball bat and find out exactly where those assholes live." Max chuckled a bit at that despite himself, rolling his eyes faintly. "So don't worry about them. We'll have their asses in jail before they can blink."

Max sighed and turned his head away for a moment, studying the wall silently for the longest time. After a few seconds, though, he spoke up. "Dad doesn't have to get drunk to get angry. He's just always angry." He shrugged, looking down and tugging his sleeves up a little, over his hands. "But, I have to get that from somewhere, right? I guess the only difference between us is that I don't use little kids as punching bags." He blinked, falling silent for a while. "He does worse sometimes, too."

"M'sorry, kid," Gwen sighed, resting her chin on her hands as she leaned forward and looked back at the TV. "Adults fucking suck, period."

"You're an adult," Max snorted, glancing at her. Gwen squinted slightly, shrugging and glancing over at him. Max just grinned innocently, tipping his head to the side.

"Did I say I didn't suck, Satan?" Gwen questioned, grabbing the pillow from behind her and tossing it at him. The kid didn't have nearly as good reflexes as Gwen did - The pillow smacked him in the face and fell back to the floor, leaving Max in a complete daze for a good few seconds, shaking his head vigorously and trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. He heard Gwen laughing her ass off, nearly drowning out the TV with her cackling, and narrowed his eyes slightly at the woman, leaning down to pick the pillow back up with a huff.

"Bitch."

"Twerp."

"Ass-"

"Language," David interrupted, walking into the room. He seemed more chipper than before, plucking the pillow up before Max could reach it and lightly tossing it onto the couch beside the kid. Max stuck his tongue out at him and sat back, grabbing the pillow and pushing it under his head. "Heya Gwen, great to see you," he said cheerfully, walking over and settling down beside Max on the couch - Not too close, surprisingly giving the kid some space.

"You just saw me yesterday, dipshit," Gwen snickered, crossing her legs and leaning back. Max smirked slightly. He had tensed up faintly when David sat next to him, but was slowly but steadily relaxing again, focusing on the TV but not quite paying attention, listening to the two speak. "Who were you on the phone with?"

"Jasper," David replied nonchalantly, his cheerful tone not wavering. Gwen let out a small hum and turned back to the TV, and David must have, too, because he quickly turned back to Max with a disapproving, "Max…"

Ah, of course - The lecture was going to come from David, if anyone. The kid stuck his tongue out slightly at his Uncle, but he reluctantly picked up the remote to change the channel, honestly not wanting to hear it. That seemed to satisfy David, who giggled slightly and sat back. Max decided to put on that show about the ponies, since it was less boring than all the other shit, at least. The kid tapped his fingers against the arm rest, staring at the TV silently and tilting his head a bit. As much as he hated to admit it, the stupid kids show was kind of intriguing. Kind of. He wasn't going to admit this to anyone.

"I hate cartoons," Gwen sighed, resting her head against one hand with her elbow on the arm rest of the chair. "Kids cartoons, at least. I think I always have." There was a short pause and a moment of silence before Gwen spoke up a bit. "Except Spongebob."

"Nobody can hate Spongebob," David agreed wholeheartedly with a small laugh. Max blinked and slid his eyes toward David for a second, then looked over at Gwen, frustrated by the fact that he didn't know what "Spongebob" was. It annoyed him to no end, the frustration growing until he huffed and finally had to ask.

"What's Spongebob?"

Both adults turned to look at him like he was fucking  _insane_. Which honestly made the kid shrink down a little bit, because now he just felt fucking stupid for even having to ask. There was a long moment of extremely uncomfortable silence in which both David and Gwen stared at him before David leaned forward, reaching over the kid and grabbing the remote. Max raised an eyebrow at him questioningly as the man turned back to the TV, mumbling. "I will not let you live like this, child,"

"Ohhh boy," Max sighed uncertainly, eyeing him questioningly for a few moments before turning to Gwen, narrowing his eyes in faint annoyance. "Did I just make a mistake?"

"Nah," Gwen waved a hand dismissively, her eyes now focused on the TV. Max followed her gaze, watching David switch through the channels. "Trust me on this one. I know David's word is unreliable because he likes magical talking unicorns on TV, but at least trust me that you haven't lived until you've watched Spongebob." She said seriously. Max blinked at her in silence before once more turning to the TV, just in time as David stopped on one particular channel with a satisfied: "Yes!"

Max stared for a few moments, watching in silence for a while. All that were on the screen at first was some yellow talking square and a talking pink starfish - Who instantly reminded Max of Kyle for some odd reason. Then some  _talking squid_ came into the picture. Max snapped his mouth shut instantly, blinking a few times as he watched, practically taking in every detail. He didn't know what the fuck this was, he just knew that for some odd fucking reason, he couldn't look away, completely focused on the show. It was stupid. In a… Really hilarious kind of way. The kid blinked, chewing on the inside of his cheek and lapsing into a complete silence.

About halfway through the episode he had decided that David was Spongebob and Mr. Krabs was Campbell. The kid was unable to stop himself from laughing a few times during the show, because honestly it was so idiotic that it was amusing. Gwen and David laughed a little bit, too - Gwen in particular, which made Max feel a little bit better about it.

"How the fuck is a whale related to a  _crab_?"

"Adoption?" Gwen tried, laughing a bit at the TV as she sat back in the chair. Max just shook his head, his mint green eyes wide with confusion and interest as he watched. "I don't know, holy shit."

"This show goes against logic," Max decided, pointing at the TV. "There's a fucking talking dish sponge living in a pineapple and he has a pet snail and how the hell are there burgers in the  _ocean_?"

"We stopped questioning it a long time ago, Max," David admitted with a laugh. "We stopped questioning everything about this show. Like how the burgers don't get soggy, and how they somehow drink water when they live in the ocean that is completely filled  _with_ water." He stood and stretched. "You guys hungry?"

"I could eat," Gwen laughed a little bit, leaning forward and focusing on the TV once more. Max hummed slightly in agreement, leaning back a bit to watch. He did look up at David for a second when the man didn't move, quirking an eyebrow slightly at the man and tilting his head faintly to the side.

"What?"

"Glad to see you enjoying yourself, Max," David said warmly. This time he  _did_ ruffle Max's hair - Max probably didn't make it any better for himself by grinning, kind of satisfied at the action despite himself. But he quickly put his scowl back on, pushing his hand away and rolling his eyes at his Uncle.

"Don't push it." With that, Max turned his gaze back to the TV, ignoring the soft chuckle from David as the man slipped past them and left the room, heading into the kitchen silently. Max shifted slightly on the couch and curled his legs up again, his scowl easily melting back into a smile as he laughed at the TV once more. It was so fucking stupid, and he felt like a total fucking  _kid_ , but… Well, he  _was_ a kid. And it wasn't like they had anything better to do right then, anyway, so… Might as well get used to it, right?  _Right._

It wasn't too long until David returned with a plate of spaghetti. He pulled a fold-up dinner table over to Max and set the plate in front of him, snorting slightly at the kids whine of protest as Max tried to lean around him to look at the TV. David also sat down a cup of some soda on the table before leaving the room again, this time returning with two more plates of spaghetti, one of which he handed to Gwen before taking his seat beside Max again.

"I can't tell whether I relate more to Squidward or Plankton," Max leaned forward a bit to peer into the cup curiously before grabbing the fork, twisting some of the spaghetti around curiously. He didn't think he'd ever had spaghetti, oddly enough, but he ate it without too much hesitation, focusing on the TV once more.

"Plankton," Gwen told him, her voice muffled by her own food. Max wrinkled his nose slightly in her direction, blinking at the TV as he swallowed his food. "I'm Squidward."

"Uhhh… I can see that, actually," Max agreed, pointing the fork at the screen before scooping up some more spaghetti. Was everything David cooked good? Honestly, Max was almost annoyed by it. He probably would've been downright frustrated with the man if he didn't enjoy the food so fucking much. "You both hate your jobs. David's Spongebob." He added before taking another bite, easily dumping the forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.

"Yay!" David practically squealed, and Max and Gwen exchanged a look, both of them wearing the same expression.  _Definitely Spongebob,_ Max confirmed in his head, smirking briefly toward his Uncle. That was the easiest thing to see, honestly.

"Which makes Campbell Mr. Krabs," Gwen piped up, which again, Max agreed with completely. David stuck his tongue out at the two, earning a snicker from Gwen and a small grin from Max, who turned his head back to the TV. They lapsed into silence again, save for a few laughs from all of them at some particularly funny scenes. Max, as much as he hated to admit it, was easily growing more comfortable as the time passed. He finished off half of the spaghetti, only stopping when his stomach started to hurt again, and took a few sips of the soda.

Eventually, David got up to clear the plates, chuckling slightly. "Alright, as fun as this is, Max, we're probably gonna have to clear out soon. Jasper should be calling me back, and we've gotta head up to the police station - I got him to get a search warrant to check your place out and get the tape recorders," he said over his shoulder, heading to the kitchen. Max hummed briefly in acknowledgement, still focused on the TV.

_Wait._

_Police station._

_Search warrant._

"Wh- Wait what?" Max's head snapped around so fast he was surprised he didn't snap his neck completely, eyes widening as he stared after David, only locking his gaze on the man when he'd returned. "Wh- You sent the  _police_ to my  _house_?" Honestly, he was internally panicking at that. Now his father was definitely going to know something was up. Meaning if this whole thing failed, he was  _so_ going to get it when he had to go  _back_ there. Not to mention, he really, really fucking hated police officers. "David, they- They don't even- They don't even know what they're  _looking_ for why the fuck-"

"Hey, calm down," David blinked, looking concerned as he walked over, grabbing the remote and turning the volume down a little so he could talk to the kid easier. "It's okay. They're gonna search the place up and down until they find it. You've got nothing to worry about, alright?" Max just shook his head, but he took a deep breath and sat back, trying to relax.

"You really shouldn't've…" Max mumbled, then narrowed his eyes when what David had said about going up to the police station sunk in, his mint green eyes hardening slightly as he looked up at David, wide-eyed.  _Oh, HELL no._ "Aha- I'm not- I'm not going up to some fucking police station, okay,"

"Language," David told him with a sigh, and Max honestly thought of telling him to take his "Language" and shove it up his fucking ass, but he refrained. "I know you don't like police officers Max, but you  _know_ Jasper-"

"And I hate him,"

David gave him a look, which Max returned easily with all his might, before continuing with a frown. "And we have to go up there so you can answer some questions while they go through the tape recorders, alright?" That part sunk in almost instantly, making the eleven year old instantly uneasy. He'd been stocking up proof and all, yes, but in all honesty he'd never thought it would come to good use at all. He never thought he'd actually have to use it. The thought of anybody listening to those, knowing to some extent what Max was going through… It was just so  _personal_. "It'll be okay, I promise. Alright?"

"Fine," Max mumbled, his head spinning, not wanting to argue anymore. If this had to happen, it was going to happen. And he'd rather be there while they went through the tape recorders.  _Just answer a few questions._ He thought, remembering what David had said as he turned his gaze back to the TV.  _Not too hard, Maxwell, not too hard at all, it'll be fine._ He felt David rest a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't say anything as the man walked back over to settle beside him once more. Max simply sank back and tried to relax again.  _Yeah, this is fine._

* * *

 

It was a while before David's phone rang. Max was honestly almost half asleep at this point, but he jolted up instantly when the phone started ringing. David pulled it out of his pocket instantly and answered, putting it up to his ear. "David Pearce," he said instantly, leaning forward a bit. His face lit up slightly when whoever was on the other line spoke. "Oh, Jasper-" He cut off, his expression turning to confusion, then horror, then disbelief, then confusion again as Jasper spoke. "Oh, uh, right, okay, we'll be right there," he said quickly. Max listened silently as they continued to talk for a bit, twisting his hands into his sleeves nervously and staring up with wide eyes. Eventually, David hung up and turned back to him and Gwen, who quirked an eyebrow curiously. "Alright, we gotta go,"

"Did they get the tape recorders?" Max was up and heading for the door instantly, David and Gwen not far behind. Max threw the door open quickly, surprised to see how late it was already as he headed off of the porch and to the car, glancing back over his shoulder.

"I don't know," David admitted. "Jasper only said they ran into some "trouble" and to get you and get down to the station now," he paused, looking at Gwen, who was opening the door to the passenger side. "You're coming?"

"Hell yeah I am," Gwen exclaimed, getting into the car and slamming the door shut. "On the off-chance Max's excuse for a father is there, I've got some choice words to throw in his face." She rolled the window down, glancing out at Max. "Are you coming or not, you little shit? Let's go!"

Max gave her a look but quickly got into the car himself, not bothering to buckle up this time. David got in, grabbing his keys and sticking them in the ignition, turning the car on and shutting the door. "Seatbelt, Max," David added, glancing back at Max briefly. Max groaned, but he complied with a small scowl; As soon as he did, they were off. The kid was honestly having a hard time not panicking. What if Ryan  _was_ there? A police station, and his father… Two fears combined, Max wasn't sure he could fucking  _take_ that. The kid inhaled slowly and let the breath out sharply, turning his head to look out the window with a frown, trying not to think about it too much.  _No. Still fine. This is probably still fine._ He gritted his teeth, swallowing.  _I hope this is still fine, holy shit…_

Despite obviously somewhat frantic, David was still driving carefully slow - Agonizingly so. Max wasn't sure whether he wanted to hurry up and get there or take the time to prepare himself for whatever the fuck was about to go down. Maybe they were just overreacting. Maybe it was all good. Maybe they didn't find anything. Or maybe they did. Either way, it'd be fine. This was fine. Max wondered if David had to tell himself that from time to time - Wondered if it was as difficult for his Uncle as it was for him just now.

"Fucking Christ are we there yet?!" Max exclaimed, then winced slightly when he realized another voice had joined his own, the same words. He glanced at Gwen briefly, shocked and a little weirded out by that, but he tried not to dwell on it too much, glancing back at David worriedly.

"Almost," David assured, shaking his head at the two. Max just groaned and sat back, running his fingers through his hair and gripping the curls tightly, almost ready to yank his own hair out at this point. He hated feeling so nervous, so  _anxious._ Hated it with every fiber of his being. He just wanted to get there, get whatever this was over with. But at the same time, he wanted to shrink back, to shy away and turn around and go back to David's place and watch some more Spongebob with David and Gwen and just forget about everything.

 _Life doesn't work that way, genius!_ He snapped at himself, wrapping his arms around himself and leaning forward slightly, taking a deep breath and glaring at the back of David's seat.  _You shouldn't have gotten fucking comfortable. Now watch, it's all gonna fucking crash and burn and you won't be able to do shit about it. Neither will David, or Gwen. You're an idiot, thinking they could do anything!_

Wow, self-deprecation at its peak. Max just growled and buried his head into his hands, only jerking his head back up when the car stopped. The kid glanced up out the window, exhaling softly. It was probably awful that the police station was a familiar sight. And probably alarming. Extremely so… But, he didn't focus on that too much, quickly unbuckling himself - And silently cussing out seatbelts as he did so - And getting out of the car. Gwen was out before him, already storming forward to march inside. Max hurried after her, only for a firm hand on his shoulder to pull him to a gentle stop.

"Max," David spun the kid around quickly, and Max looked up at him, trying his best to mask his expression and not let David see just how much he was panicking. "It's gonna be okay. Don't worry. I'm sure Jasper's got this all under control." He squeezed Max's shoulder gently. "Okay?"

"M'kay," Max agreed, and David let him go. Max turned and headed inside at a much slower pace, David falling into step easily as he pushed the doors open to walk inside.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he didn't expect to see Kyle. Or Tommy. Or Anthony. Or Natalie. The kid stared, dumbfounded for a moment as his gaze raked over his friends. Kyle waved cheerfully, and Tommy briefly nodded in his direction, his face as stone-cold as ever. Anthony was glaring around like he wanted to set the place on fire, and Natalie was just bouncing in her seat, grinning from ear to ear.

Max sucked in a sharp breath, storming away from David to walk over to the four. "What the  _fuck_ are you guys doing here and  _why_?" He demanded, glancing at the officers in the room briefly. He recognized Jasper - And the other few, but he couldn't name them. The kid quickly turned back, focusing his glare mostly on Tommy, since he was the leader of the whole thing anyway. "Tom?"

"We went to get those tape recorders."

"Oh my god," Max took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out slowly. He glared at Tommy for a moment, trying to calm himself down enough to talk and not yell, because he hadn't yelled at Tommy yet and he did not want to see what would happen if he ever did. "Okay.  _Why_ the fuck, and how- Did you even get inside?"

"We broke in," It was Kyle who answered, not Tommy, who nodded briefly in Kyle's direction to confirm the statement. "Smashed the window right in. You would've been proud. I told the guys where you kept the tape recorders!"

"So this was  _your_ idea," Max whirled on his best friend then, beyond furious. He wasn't really sure if he'd had any right to be angry, but he was. Not because they'd broken in, but because if they were there, that meant they ran into the cops. If they ran into the cops, they could have gotten in some  _serious_ fucking trouble. Or they could have gotten shot. Or worse. Something bad could have happened. Cops and this gang did  _not_ mix in any way, Max knew this from experience, and he was beyond worried. And what did he do? He turned that fear into anger, as per usual. "What the fuck, Kyle?"

"Tommy's idea, I just told the gang the ins and outs of your place so they knew what to look for," Kyle blinked, looking a little confused now as he studied his best friend. The smile didn't leave his face. "Come on, don't be mad at me."

"No, I'm gonna be fucking mad!" Max exclaimed, not at all calmed by Kyle's words. If anything, they just made him even angrier. "For fuck's sake, Kyle, you know how dangerous that could have been, you ran into the fucking police for god's sake!"

"Well, we didn't exactly know they were gonna be there," Kyle replied, tilting his head to the side innocently. Max just grimaced and shook his head, grinding his teeth together with a scowl. He shoved his hands into his pockets, taking in a deep, shaky breath.

"It doesn't fucking matter," he growled, gritting his teeth. "One of you could have gotten hurt.  _You_ could have gotten hurt!" He jabbed a finger at his best friend, who blinked once, smile fading slightly. "And if you'd ran into my  _father_ \- I don't even want to think about what could have happened there!" He took a deep breath. "We've already got shit with the police, you shouldn't have gone along with this, and  _you_ shouldn't have fucking-" He turned on Tommy, who had stood up and was walking away from him. "Where the hell are you going?!"

"To get something. Continue."

Max growled - Actually fucking growled, and turned back to Kyle, who's smile had completely dropped now. "This could have ended badly, you know that, right?"

"I know, buddy." Kyle sighed, leaning forward a little and crossing his arms over his legs with a frown. "But it didn't. Nobody got hurt, it's okay, M&M. Your dad wasn't even there." He added, blowing his hair out of his face.

"You could have gotten shot," Max grumbled, but he felt his anger slowly dissolve at the nickname. "Do you have any fucking idea what I would do if one of you got hurt? Especially  _you_ , you incredible fucking moron?" He scowled, kicking Kyle's foot with his own. He both hated and loved how easily he was snapped out of his rage. Kyle's smile returned, widening into a cheeky grin as he opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by Jasper.

"Alright, I hate to interrupt," Max turned and looked up as David crossed over to stand beside him again. Max focused on Jasper for a moment, staring at him warily, and then at the gun attached to his belt. Then at the bag in his hand - a trash bag, completely filled.

Max's heart both sank and soared at the same time, horror and hope mixing. It wasn't a very good combination; Max wasn't sure he liked how it felt.

"But we've got more important matters here," Jasper crossed forward, and as did Tommy, who was holding his own bag. Jasper silently half-set, half-tossed the bag down in front of Max, and Tommy dropped the other in front of David, crossing his arms and stepping back. He quirked an eyebrow at Max, who's gaze fixed on the bags in silence.

"We got the tape recorders, Machine Gun."

Max swallowed hard, eyes wide as he stared down at the bags in silence for a moment. He didn't think he could speak right then if he tried, mouth dry. On one hand, maybe this was enough proof to get both Ryan and Alex in jail. On the other hand, this was literally years worth of abuse that Max had recorded, and it was about to be completely uncovered. In just two fucking days, Max's whole life was being twisted around. The kid took a deep breath and looked up at David as the man put a hand on his shoulder. His Uncle wasn't really looking at him, though, eyes fixed on the bags, and eventually, Max dropped his gaze as well, taking a deep breath.

"Oh."


	6. You Don't Have To Know What To Say, Or What To Think

" _I didn't even fucking DO anything!"_

" _You exist. Isn't that enough? ...And watch your mouth, boy."_

* * *

 

Max was silent, staring down for the longest time as the voices continued, droning on and on. Stirring up memories he'd rather have forgotten, memories he'd rather have repressed. The boy leaned forward, propping his arms up on the table and holding his head in his hands. He didn't dare to look toward David, not wanting to see his expression. Hell, he didn't even want to see  _Gwen's_ expression right then. This was only the fifth recording they'd listened to, and it wasn't even the worst one. Max could recall that day easily, though. He could remember the words spoken, him and his father lashing back and forth at each other. He could remember the gunshot, remember the pain in his shoulder, remember being taken to the hospital.

He startled a bit when Jasper tapped his shoulder, snapping out of the memory briefly to look up at the officer. Jasper was scribbling things down on a piece of paper, his blue eyes cold as he listened to the recordings. It was enough to make Max lean back slightly. He was distrusting of policemen and he always would be. Then again, he was distrusting of any adult at all, so. "How old were you when this happened?"

"Eight." Max sighed, letting his head loll back for a moment over the back of the chair. He didn't like these investigation rooms, but it was the only place the four of them could go to get some alone time until the police released Tommy and the rest of the gang - The others were taking care of that now, apparently. "I'd just gotten out of rehab."

"I see. And why were you in rehab?" Jasper paused the recording just after the gunshot; Max cringed slightly at the sound, feeling his body tense up instinctively. After all this time, guns still petrified him - He could hear a car backfire and go into immediate panic. The eleven year old exhaled softly and straightened back up, finally daring to spare a glance toward David and Gwen. David was sitting in still silence, his fingers digging harshly into his lap and his teeth clenched over his lower lip, obviously trying extremely hard not to speak. Max had asked him and Gwen not to say a word the whole time, and he was doing a fairly good job at keeping silent. Gwen, herself, looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't seem to be having as hard a time stopping herself.

"Overdose." Max replied after a moment, tilting his head slightly as he turned back to Jasper. The officer paused and looked toward him for a second, blue eyes meeting green.

"Can you clarify, please?"

"I tried to overdose, my father declared me as a "druggy" and sent me to rehab as soon as I was out of the hospital." Max said bluntly, crossing his legs in the chair and folding his arms over his chest. They'd told him to answer the questions honestly, that's what he was going to do.

Though he did shy away from the memory, as well as the events that had led up to the attempt on his life in the first place. He tried not to wince at the sharp gasp from David, at the soft  _smack_ of Gwen slapping her hand over David's mouth. Instead, Max just focused on Jasper, because even though his blue eyes were just flashing with pure fucking pity, at least he didn't look like he was close to tears.

"Okay," Jasper mumbled, writing something down on the paper briefly before grabbing another tape recorder from the pile on the desk. "Is it alright if we continue with these?" He questioned Max, who gave a halfhearted shrug and looked down, fixing his eyes on the table. He still wasn't all that comfortable with them all hearing all of this shit, honestly, but he just wanted to get this over with and go back to David's. The kid sighed and once more looked toward his Uncle as Jasper pressed play on the tape recorder and set it down. David glanced at him, forest green eyes softening slightly as soon as they met the kid's mint green ones. Max was surprised he didn't look as pitying as Jasper - Mostly just… Sympathetic. Max just looked away again, focusing on the recording.

Oh, he still remembered that day. It hadn't been  _as_ bad...

* * *

 

_Max inhaled sharply as he was shoved back against the wall, wincing as his father's nails dug into his shoulder. He felt a hand come up under his chin, forcing the six year old's head up to stare his father in the eyes. The man's blue eyes glowed coldly as he pulled Max forward and slammed him back again, a sneer curling at his lips. "Good for nothing rat." He snarled, yanking Max forward again. "I hope you enjoyed your fucking time at that shithole camp." He tugged Max forward so they were face to face. "Because you're going to be spending an awful lot of time there, you little shit."_

" _I- It- It's n- no- not a sh- shith- hole," Max stammered, his tiny fingers desperately tugging at his father's in a feeble attempt to pry the man's hands off of him. The kid whimpered, his lower lip trembling slightly as he fought to free himself. "Pl- Please, you're h- hurting me-"_

_SMACK._

_Max stopped instantly, feeling his head spin at the hard slap. His head turned faintly to the side with the force of it, the instant bruise already starting to appear. Max took his hand off of his father's to clasp his palm over his cheek, wincing sharply at the stinging sensation. It wasn't anything he wasn't used to, but it still hurt. Especially when he didn't expect it, which honestly, right then, he hadn't. He had to remind himself this wasn't Camp Campbell, and his father wasn't David._

" _Well it's not supposed to tickle," his dad sneered, shoving the kid back and sending the poor boy crashing back into the wall with a choked gasp. "I thought we'd handled the cussing situation. Oh well," he turned away. "I'll stop by the store later and get some more bleach," he sneered over his shoulder. "Maybe I'll make you swallow it this time. Nip this cursing in the bud real quick." And then he stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him._

* * *

 

 _Bleach._ Max grimaced as the recording was stopped and Jasper slid the tape recorder into another pile, looking over at the few left. Jasper had decided to only grab few from the two bags to go through with Max, David and Gwen - The rest would be sorted out and tended to once they had what information they needed. The kid hunched forward a bit, attempting to see what was being written, mostly, but the room was dark. And Max was pretty tired, so he couldn't really focus that much. The events of the day had exhausted him beyond belief. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep.

"So from what I've gathered, your father would make you drink bleach when you cussed?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Max sighed, once more letting his head fall back over the back of the chair. The position should have been uncomfortable - Or honestly, more than uncomfortable, it should have hurt like a motherfucker, but he didn't mind it too much. "I mean, I only had to drink it a few times. Mostly it- it was just a rag soaked in bleach I had to hold in my mouth for about ten minutes tops." He added bluntly, kind of hating the way he'd stumbled over that sentence. He fucking hated bleach - It burned like a motherfucker.

"Okay," Jasper mumbled, and Max could hear the pencil scraping against the paper for a few moments before Jasper set it down and grabbed another of the tape recorders, making Max sit up instantly. The officer looked to Max for confirmation and once more got nothing more than a simple shrug in response, his head falling back once more. He heard David take in a sharp breath, probably to prepare himself, as the recording started.

The first thing they heard was pure silence for at least a second - Then screaming. Max winced, recognizing his own voice. He wasn't screaming words, no, just…  _Screaming._ In pain. The eleven year old swallowed, glancing toward David out of the corner of his eye and seeing the man tense up, his face paling faintly. Max took a shaky breath and lifted his gaze to the ceiling, visibly flinching when Alex's voice cut in, Max's screams cutting off and muffling. Max only needed to hear a few words.

" _As much as I love to hear you screaming, baby, I'm gonna have to ask you to keep it do-"_

"Cut it off," Max's head shot up instantly, leaning forward a bit and reaching out to grab the tape recorder himself. That was the first day Alex's game had actually gotten intense - the day it started to hurt, rather than just feel uncomfortable and  _wrong_. Jasper had grabbed the tape recorder before he could, instantly stopping the recording and turning a concerned gaze to the eleven year old, who took in a soft, shaky breath and let it out slowly, sinking back into the chair. The room went dead silent - Save for a few whimpers from David, who looked like he was about to cry, making Max wonder how the hell he wasn't breaking down right then himself.

_Because I've been through a lot worse._

The kid sighed and closed his eyes tightly, waiting a few moments before speaking, blinking his eyes open and turning to Jasper. "I don't… I don't wanna do any more." He mumbled, fighting to keep his voice steady. Someone had to be the strong one, and judging by the way Gwen's eyes were glistening slightly now, it was going to be Max. Jasper nodded in understanding, grimly writing something else down on the paper before grabbing the tape recorders to scoop them up into the bag. He stood up, and paused for a few seconds before looking down at Max, who narrowed his eyes questioningly.  _If he asks another fucking question I will murder him myself-_

"Max, I promise you we will get you out of that house," Jasper mumbled after a moment, his voice darker than before. Max reeled back a bit, sitting back heavily and listening as Jasper continued. "We're going to get you away from those people. You don't have to worry about them ever again, okay?"

Max went silent, holding his gaze. The words didn't quite comfort him, no. He wasn't seeking comfort. "I'm not some kicked puppy that needs reassurance from you on whether or not I'm going to be okay, Jasper." He paused for a second, dropping his gaze. He just wanted those assholes in jail. He wanted Ryan and Alex behind bars, because that's where they fucking belonged. Then…? Max wasn't too sure. "I just want it to be over." He sighed, pressing his fingers into his eyes. Jasper gave a soft hum of acknowledgement, his gaze fixed on the kid, but Max didn't look up this time, choosing instead to simply fix his gaze on the table and not move it at all.

That is until someone - He already  _knew_ who before looking up - Wrapped him up in a hug. The kid winced slightly, twisting a little in David's grasp and pushing slightly against his chest in a feeble attempt to break free. He didn't want hugs, either. He didn't like to be  _touched_ god dammit why couldn't these people understand that and give him his personal fucking  _space_? "I'm so, so sorry Max," David whispered, burying his face into Max's shoulder for a second. Max groaned and rolled his head back, glaring up at the ceiling for a few moments as David continued. "I should have caught on sooner. I should have tried to help you sooner."

"David," Max gritted his teeth slightly. He didn't want David blaming himself for any of this, and he didn't want the apologies. Again, he just wanted it to be  _over_. "I'm not a fucking kicked puppy." He repeated. "Or some fucking cat stuck in a tree that needs your help getting down. Nothing is going to even  _change_ here. They'll bust Dad and Uncle Alex, and then what? They can't erase the fucking memories, eleven years worth of child abuse, sexual abuse, they- they can't do anything for that!" He inhaled sharply. "I'm fucking broken, David, a- and I always will be. Nothing is going to change that."

David blinked and pulled his head back to look down at him. Max met his stare steadily, seeing nothing but confusion and pain in those forest green eyes. Pain David had absolutely no right to. "That's what I'm trying to fix, Max-"

Something in Max snapped.

"I don't  _need_ your fucking  _help_ , David! I don't want it, you can shove it up your goddamn ass!" Max snarled, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. "Look, idiot, kids are like promises and Gwen's fantasy of a time-traveling doctor coming for her rescue -  _Made to be broken_! So it doesn't fucking matter whether you want to help me or not, because this is the way it always has been, and it's the way it's always gonna b-"

"Max,  _stop_!"

Max visibly flinched at that, his eyes flying open in shock. Rather than fixing on David, though, his gaze burned into the ground, tensing up in the man's arms. He hadn't been expecting David to snap back at him, but at the same time he knew he'd definitely deserved it. The kid fell into a startled silence, knowing that if he tried to speak right then he would fail miserably and probably stutter over his words like all hell. So instead he lapsed into silence, as did the rest of the room, as David tried to calm himself down before speaking again. When he did speak, his voice was calm and soft once more, but it didn't stop Max from flinching.

"Kids are not supposed to be broken, Max. No matter what you've been told. Kids are wonderful, and sweet, and adorable. And they're not supposed to be put through  _half_ the pain that you have. I know you're not a puppy, or a kitten stuck in a tree. But you are an innocent eleven year old boy who was forced to grow up much too much, much too fast." David paused and took a deep breath. Max stayed silent, refusing to look up. Mostly because he didn't want David to see the tears that had began to brew in his eyes.

"I don't care how I do it, Max. But I'm going to help you get through this, because that's what you deserve. You- You deserve a- A normal childhood. You deserve to be happy. So I'm going to help you, whether you like it or not. Because, Max," David paused, and soon enough Max felt his fingers under his chin, gently moving his head up. Max let his gaze flicker around him hesitantly before finally lifting his eyes to David's, biting his lower lip in an attempt to stop it from trembling. "You don't know this yet, kiddo, but that's what family's supposed to do."

Max swallowed hard, not knowing what to say. What could he even say to that, after all? What was an eleven year old boy expected to say to any of that? For some reason, it sent him right back to Parent's Day. He hadn't known what to say then, either. And he hadn't particularly believed David at all. He hadn't believed that he deserved to be happy. Because if all this bad shit was happening to him, didn't he deserve  _that_? But the more he thought about it, the more he realized David was probably right. Other kids were happy. Other kids were cared for, and loved. Not beaten and broken down.

This wasn't normal was it?

His whole fucking life, he'd just thought it was normal. It was how his life had always been. Yes, he knew it was sick, and twisted, and horrible, but he thought  _that was normal_.

The kid sucked in a shaky breath, looking down once more. He felt something wet trail down his cheek. Then another, and another. It took quite some time to realize they were tears, but he didn't move to wipe them away, not wanting to bring any attention to the fact that he was crying. But David noticed anyway, hands instantly moving to brush his thumbs under Max's eyes, gently rubbing away the tears. Max just went silent, his tense shoulders slowly releasing the tension as he finally turned his gaze back to David.

"M'sorry." Well, he was already crying. Why not throw away the rest of whatever dignity he'd had left and apologize? "I just- I… I'm scared." Oh, admitting fear. Bonus points for Max. David didn't seem to mind, though, silently pulling Max into his arms and hugging him once more, holding the eleven year old tight against him and letting out a soft sigh.

"I know, Max. I know."

"I- I don't.. Understand.."

"I know."

Max sighed and shut his eyes, sinking against David with a frown and resting his head against the man's chest silently, ignoring everything and everyone else for a moment. Honestly he was wondering what was next for him. So his father and Alex were probably going to go to jail. Where would he go, then? Would he and Sarah just be staying with David? Would he even be staying  _with_ Sarah? The boy went silent, deciding to push those questions to the back of his mind for now. He didn't want to have to worry, for once. He just wanted to… Relax. If only for a little bit.

So that's what he did. He sank down into David's arms and relaxed. His Uncle just held him, rubbing circles on the child's back in soft, soothing motions, and before he knew it, Max's eyes were slipping shut. He didn't want to sleep right then, and he was praying to god that he didn't, but he didn't try to move away, too comfortable. Feeling way too safe to want to move away. He heard Jasper clear his throat, and winced slightly at the noise, to be honest, but he didn't move his head off of David's chest, not wanting to move an inch.

"Take him home. Calm him down a bit, get him dinner, let him sleep. David, I'll call you later. There's other things we need to discuss." There was a pause and some shuffling, then a familiar, small squeak. Max's eyes cracked open instantly, turning his head a bit but not lifting it, too comfortable. His gaze focused on the bear Jasper was holding. "I believe this is yours," Jasper crossed forward and held out the stuffed animal, which was basically snatched from him in an instant. "Your blonde buddy found it."

 _Kyle._ Max would have to thank him later. For now he just sank back into David's arms and held the bear close to him with one arm, the other tightly wrapped around David with his fingers curled into David's shirt. "Are Dad and Uncle Alex going to court?" Max mumbled after a few seconds, looking down at Mr. Honeynuts.

"Nope. We've got enough evidence here to slam them behind bars instantly." Jasper replied, walking over and opening the door. Max shifted a little as David stood, clinging to the man a little tighter. And to his relief, David didn't put him down. If anything, the man held him closer. Max had honestly never felt more like a… A  _kid_ than he did just then. And what surprised him most was the fact that he loved the feeling. He liked feeling safe like this. It was… New. But snuggled up in David's arms, his head resting against the man's chest and cuddling that bear close to him, he'd  _never_ felt safer, and he relished every fucking second.

"Gwen, can you drive," David mumbled, shifting the kid into one arm and putting his hand into his pocket, probably for his keys. Max just shifted slightly until he was back in that comfortable position, moving his head up a bit to tuck his head under David's chin.  _I swear to god, nobody at camp better hear about this ever._ "I think Max would kill me if I moved him right now."

 _Damn right._ As if to prove David right, Max shifted a little closer, squeezing his eyes shut with a soft sigh.  _Don't get too used to this, camp man, I swear to god…_

_...I'd like to get used to this, though._

* * *

 

Max was somehow still awake when they got to the house. But whatever tension was left in the kid instantly drained the moment they were inside, David still holding him tightly and Max's head still buried under David's chin. He finally moved it, however, when they crossed through the door, looking up to look around tiredly. He was exhausted and yes, he did want to sleep, but he was also kind of hungry. The boy sighed and dropped his gaze for a second before tucking his head back under David's and mentally cursing himself for how childish he was acting.

"Are you hungry?" David's voice was soft, still rubbing his thumb over Max's back gently as he carried the kid into the living room. Max frowned when David gently moved his arms from where they were wrapped around David's neck tightly, gently easing the boy onto the couch and ruffling his hair. Max just sighed, shifting slightly and instead wrapping his arms around Mr. Honeynuts as he nodded to David.

"I'll cook," Gwen murmured to David as she passed him, gently ruffling Max's hair herself as she headed for the kitchen. Max turned his head slightly to watch her go before turning to David, who silently sat down beside him on the couch. After a few moments of hesitation, Max turned toward him, causing the man's eyes to flicker down to him instantly. Max didn't know what expression was on his face, but whatever it was caused David's expression to turn to immediate concern, reaching out to brush Max's hair from his face.

"You've been awfully quiet, kiddo." David mumbled gently, tilting his head slightly. Max sighed, looking away for a few seconds. He wanted to apologize again. But at the same time he didn't want to say anything, he just wanted to curl up against David again and snuggle his head under David's chin and just forget everything. He wanted to feel safe. And he honestly didn't think he could feel safe around David - At least, he hadn't thought that, not after Damion. He didn't think he could feel safe around anybody. And yet, he felt safe even then, even just sitting there beside him.

"M'not used to kindness, David."

"I can see that, Max," David sighed, and then Max was being pulled up into his arms again. The eleven year old merely sighed, mostly in relief, and sank down into the embrace, easily resting his head against David's chest. "But that's okay. I'll help you with that, too."

"What if it's too late?" Max mumbled, his voice muffled as he pressed his face into David's shirt, releasing a soft, shaky sigh. He'd honestly never felt more vulnerable in his life. And he knew David was just eating it up, the chance to comfort the kid who had never really let him in before at all. And honestly, Max was eating up the comfort with just as much eagerness for the first time. He wasn't fighting it. He was  _tired_ of fighting it.

"It's not too late for you kiddo," David whispered, tugging Max back a little and lowering his head a bit so they could come face to face, giving the kid a warm smile. Max just blinked at him, his gaze flickering slightly for a few moments. He really wished he had any idea how to respond to any of this. He wished he knew how to accept it. "You're gonna be just fine. I've got you, Gwen's got you, your mom's got you. So don't you worry about a thing, okay?"

"Okay," Max agreed quietly, mostly so that he could put his head back down. He heard a soft chuckle from David as soon as he did, and pointedly turned his head to look up at him. "Don't laugh at me, asshat." He mumbled instinctively.

"I'm not laughing at you," David assured him, shifting slightly and holding the kid close with one arm, the other reaching for the remote. Max watched for a moment, turning his gaze to the TV when David started flipping through channels again. "I'm just… Kind of happy, kiddo. You can be happy now."

"I dunno how to be happy."

"Well, that's one more thing we have to fix." David told him, resting his head lightly on top of Max's mess of curls. Max sighed and simply buried his head back under David's chin, this time peeking out slightly so he could see the TV. A small smile twitched at his lips when his Uncle put on Spongebob, seeming to relax a little more. It wasn't hard to tell the kid liked the show at this point. And now he  _really_ felt like a child, cuddling up against his Uncle and watching a cartoon about a talking sponge.

_Nobody else better hear of this ever._

* * *

 

David sighed, brushing his fingers through Max's hair gently as the kid fell asleep. After he ate the burger Gwen had cooked for him, he was kind of just out like a light. David himself wasn't exactly hungry - He definitely didn't have much of an appetite after learning some of what the kid had been through. He knew it was bad, he just didn't know how bad. And that was only the half of it. The man frowned, pressing his face into the mess of black curls for a few moments and letting his eyes flicker over the TV. He was just a child, he didn't deserve any of the pain he'd been put through. But now it was all making sense. Max definitely  _did_ have every right to be angry, didn't he?

"I'm gonna go put him in his bed." David murmured to Gwen, easing himself off of the couch and giving his friend a warm smile. Gwen tried to force one back, but it turned into more of a grimace. David didn't blame her, she cared about the kid, too. David just had years of experience of masking his emotions, he knew how to fake a smile. "You staying the night?"

"Guess so," Gwen muttered, focusing on the little boy in David's arms. Max had hardly moved from that one position; His head tucked under David's chin and his arms wrapped loosely around the counselor's neck, one hand clutching the bear and the other tangled into David's shirt. He seemed comfortable, much to David's relief. He deserved that. "David, what's going to happen to him?"

"...I don't know, Gwen." David mumbled, smile dropping for a second. He bit his lip, looking down at Max for a second and giving a soft sigh, using one hand to brush his curls from his face. Max simply buried his face deeper into David's chest. "But he'll be okay, if I've got a say in it." He sighed. "I'll be back in a bit." With that he turned and left the living room, heading to the guest room he'd put Max in the night before. He hesitantly unwrapped the kid's arms from around his neck, not wanting to wake him up. Luckily, though, Max remained asleep, looking peaceful as ever, and David settled him in the bed easily, pulling the blanket up over him and tucking him in with a sigh.

"Goodnight, kiddo," he mumbled, planting a kiss on Max's forehead before pulling back, watching the eleven year old clutch the bear tightly to his chest. David could still remember giving him that - It made him happy to know Max still liked the bear, even after he'd changed. The man shut the light off and left the room, heading back to the living room. Gwen was now flipping through different channels on the TV; David sank back onto the couch and covered his face with one hand, exhaling slowly.

"Hey," Gwen paused and turned to David; The man silently turned his head to look back at her, raising an eyebrow questioningly. "Where's the little shit's mother, anyway?"

"Work," David explained, running his fingers through his red hair. Sarah had told him she'd be working late - Probably past midnight, and it wasn't even eleven yet. "Don't worry, she probably won't bother you. I've been letting her sleep in my bed."

"So you've been sleeping on the couch."

"Mhm…"

"The things you'll do for family," Gwen sighed, shrugging slightly and sitting back with a frown. "You know Max is probably going to be taken out of her custody, right? Legally she's still married to that asshat. So they're probably gonna place him in the system." She grimaced slightly at the thought, as did David. Max already had a hard enough life, foster care was not one of the things he needed. He needed somewhere he felt secure, and safe. Though David knew that was a stretch - How could a child who had been through so much feel  _secure_ anywhere?

"I know…" David huffed, letting his head fall back and looking up at the ceiling. "I've been thinking about that, actually. Putting him in the system… Do you think that's a good idea? I mean, they'd put him somewhere where he'd be cared for, but would he be  _happy_?"

"I don't think Max would be  _happy_ anywhere, except with you."

David had opened his mouth to respond to the first part of that sentence; The words died on his tongue at the last few words. He blinked, moving his arms down and turning his head to look over at Gwen, who was just staring at him, eyebrows raised. For the longest time, all David could do was stare, before managing to choke out a soft; "What?"

"David the kid fell asleep in your arms," Gwen snorted. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't dare fall asleep even remotely near someone I didn't trust, much less snuggle up against them to doze off."

"...You think Max trusts me?" David smiled slightly at the thought, sitting up and leaning forward a little bit. That's all he'd really wanted, honestly. For Max to trust him again. It wasn't hard to tell the kid was scared of him - The way he flinched when he touched him, the way he looked at him sometimes. David thought he was doing a pretty good job at showing the kid that he wouldn't ever hurt him, though.

"Duh." Gwen sighed, shrugging in response. David sat back with a slightly goofy grin now, thinking that over. "Look, in any case, David, you could probably take the kid."

"I- I'm- What?" Once more, David was taken aback, the grin wiped from his face and his green eyes snapping wide with surprise.  _Take the kid_. "Like- Adopt.. Max?" As soon as he said the words, his smile returned full-force. Well, he had always wanted to, ever since Max had first  _showed up_ at camp, but…

"Sure, why not?" Gwen sighed, shifting slightly in her seat. She seemed like she was about to say something more, but she paused when David's phone started to ring. There was a moment of silence before Gwen simply nodded in his direction. "That would be yours, David." She said dryly. David cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away from her and pulling his phone out of his pocket with a frown. It was Jasper.

"Jasp," he mumbled to Gwen, pressing answer and putting the phone to his ear. Jasper had said there was something else they needed to talk about - David was honestly kind of nervous to hear it. "Hey,"

" _Hey, Davey. Gwen with you?"_

"Yep."

" _Max?"_

"He's asleep." David paused and glanced toward the doorway for a second, then turned back, focusing on Gwen for a moment. "What's up, Jasper?" He asked, kind of uncertain now.

" _Put the phone on speaker, Gwen should hear this too."_ David sighed but did as instructed, pulling the phone away from his ear and hitting the button to put it on speaker. He nodded to Gwen, who quirked an eyebrow and pushed herself off the chair to walk over, settling down beside David on the couch.

"What's up, cop?"

" _You two had a kid, right? A boy?"_

David almost dropped the phone. The silence that fell over them almost physically hurt, honestly. And he didn't want to turn to see Gwen's expression. The man just took a deep breath and held it. He had no idea why Jasper had to bring that up, why was that important? He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about signing a paper, handing a little boy over to the social worker. He didn't want to think about any of it. He'd fought so hard to completely forget about it,  _why_ did Jasper have to bring it up?

It was Gwen who spoke, her voice cold, but unnaturally choked. "Yes."

" _Born the fifth of October?"_

"Yes." David could basically hear Gwen's teeth grinding together, knowing she was probably about to snap at any second. The man sent her a warning look, but it faltered when he saw the tears in her eyes. It wasn't long before David wrapped an arm around her and tugged her into a small hug, clutching the phone tightly in his other hand.

" _And this kid should be about eleven years old now, correct?"_

"Yes," David spoke before Gwen could, gently resting his head on top of hers and focusing his gaze on the wall. "Jasper, what is this about?" He asked after a few seconds of silence, taking a deep breath.

" _We did a full search of the house and found a box in the attic, which we brought with us to the police station along with the tape recorders. I looked through them just before you got to the station."_ There was a small pause, and Jasper cleared his throat. " _There was a folder at the bottom of the box. Were you aware that Max was adopted?"_

David paused, falling back heavily against the couch. Beside him, Gwen tensed up faintly, but David didn't turn to look at her this time, focusing on the phone now. "...No, I- I wasn't…" He mumbled, sounding kind of confused. "J- Jasper, what… What are you getting at, here?"

" _I don't know, Davey, what do you think I'm getting at?"_ There was another pause as David took a deep breath and held it, waiting. " _Anyway, I decided to contact a friend of mine - Jasmine Jones, who works with social services, and she sent me the rest of the files. Max is, biologically, your son."_

" _WHAT?!_ " Gwen pretty much shrieked. David visibly flinched, startled, then froze as the words sunk in.

_Max is my son._

_My son._

_My son?_

_Max?_

"Holy shit." David choked out, clasping a hand over his mouth. He didn't know whether he was about to cry or not right then. He felt like it, but he was struggling to hold it in. At least until he was alone. Gwen, on the other hand, was outright sobbing at this point; David quickly hugged her again, setting the phone down on the coffee table and wrapping both arms around her. "Hey, hey, come on, it's okay, Gwen,"

"This whole time, this whole fucking time," Gwen seethed, burying her face into David's shoulder and letting out another shaky sob, that was a mix of a small laugh this time. "I- I'm going to fucking kill those assholes I  _swear to god_ -"

" _Alright, I hate to interrupt the moment, but,"_ Jasper coughed from the phone, sending them both back into silence. " _I'll take this to mean you're interested in reclaiming custody? Because that's on the table right now. We were originally going to put him into the foster system once he was legally removed from Ryan and Sarah's custody, however, I think it would be a much better idea to simply-"_

" _Yes_  god dammit for fuck's sake now let us  _cry_!" Gwen snarled, looking only seconds away from tearing into the phone. David gently eased her back to sit back on the couch, taking a deep breath. As much as he wanted to agree, he also didn't know if this was something Max himself would agree with, and that was important. Max didn't even know he was their  _son_ , so how the heck would he react to any of this?

"Look, Jasper - Of course w- we want Max but-"

" _I know, it's up to him, of course. And you'll still need to break the news to him. That's fine, of course - You both take all the time you need to get everything sorted out."_ There was a small snort. " _Gwen, you can go back to crying. I'll talk to you both tomorrow."_ There was a soft click and the line went dead. David simply dropped the phone onto the floor, sitting back in silence for the longest time as he processed everything. This was a lot of information for one day.

" _David how the fuck are we going to tell Max?_ " Gwen suddenly demanded, turning to him. David glanced up for a second, frowning. Gwen looked completely panicked now. "He  _hates_ us - Well, he hates me at least and I just, I don't know fuck what if he doesn't want us t- What are we going to  _do_?"

"Just calm down, Gwen," David mumbled, running his fingers through his hair. Honestly, he was panicking just as much on the inside as she was on the outside - He was just a lot better at hiding it. "This'll… This'll be fine. Let's not really drop anything on him yet, alright? We can break it to him tomorrow that he's adopted, and if he takes that well, we'll tell him.."

"That he's our son?" Gwen interrupted, taking in a sharp, unsteady breath. David sucked in his own sharp breath at that, unable to help the giddy feeling that went through him at the words. Max was his son. "Oh my god, Max is our son."

David giggled a bit despite himself, rubbing his eyes a little bit and giving a wide grin. "All I've ever wanted," he mused, letting out a soft sigh and leaning forward. "So, yeah, we'll do that. Ultimately, it's up for him to decide." He went silent for a few moments, thinking, then dropped his gaze. "I just really hope he decides to let us take him. It'll be better than putting him through the system, and  _god_ he deserves to be actually taken  _care_ of, you know?"

"I know," Gwen agreed quietly, sighing. "Me too, David." She went silent, leaning back a little. David fell quiet as well, tilting his head back and looking up at the ceiling. Max was his son.  _We should never have given him up in the first place. If I had known he'd have such a horrible life, I would never have signed those papers. I really wouldn't have._

"...David."

"Yeah?" David shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts to turn back to her. Gwen had a weird expression on her face now, studying him silently.

"Who's gonna break it to Sarah?"

Oh.

"Oh." David blinked, snapping his mouth shut and swallowing hard. "Well... I guess me. Oh, boy." He sighed, shaking his head. "Well, she'll probably want what's best for Max, anyway. And it's not like her contact with him would be cut off. She hasn't done anything wrong, and if Max agrees to let us take custody back, there's nothing stopping her from seeing him. She is my sister, after all." He paused, resting his head back again. "I just… I just want Max to be happy."

"I know David," Gwen sighed, resting her own head against the back of the couch and studying him. David just turned his head to stare at her, going silent and giving her a small, hesitant smile, which was returned easily now. "I do, too."


	7. You Don't Have To Be Anybody You Can Never Be

Once Max cracked his eyes open, it didn't take very long for him to recognize the room he awoke in. The same one he'd been in the morning before. The eleven year old sighed softly and rolled over a bit, giving a small yawn as he pushed himself to sit up, tugging the blanket down and setting Mr. Honeynuts in front of him. The memories from yesterday came flooding back without much warning; The kid had to stop himself from wincing as he pulled himself out of the bed, steadying himself briefly before kneeling down to grab new clothes from the bag. He didn't want to think about yesterday too much. He didn't want to think about the tape recorders, at least. He didn't really mind remembering how safe he'd felt in David's arms, or how nice it felt to just sit there and watch Spongebob with him and Gwen while he fell asleep.

Max blinked, the corners of his mouth tugging up into a small smile at the memory and some weird feeling he couldn't quite describe warming his chest. It wasn't something he felt often, so he wasn't too familiar with it, but he let the happy feeling linger for a while as he picked out some clothes and headed to the bathroom to change. However, he did pause in the hallway, hearing water running from the kitchen, and the sound of pans clanking together. "David?"

There was a long pause; The water shut off, and there was one last small bang which sounded like the pans being dropped completely before David poked his head into the hallway, waving at the kid. "Good morning, Max!"

Max quirked an eyebrow at him. "More chipper than usual." He mumbled to himself, shaking his head a bit and jerking his head toward the bathroom. "Can I take a shower?" He asked, somewhat hesitantly. But the uneasiness died down when he turned back to David, who's smile hadn't wavered a bit.

"Of course, you don't gotta ask," David chuckled, giving the kid a warm grin. Max hummed in acknowledgement and started to turn to go back to the bathroom, but he paused when David spoke up again. "Oh, hey, I'm making breakfast! Eggs and bacon sound good to you?" He chirped. Max sighed faintly, turning his head briefly to glance over his shoulder at the man.

"Sounds good."

"Good!" David beamed back at him, staying where he was for a few moments. Max paused, quirking an eyebrow at him silently, but David was kind of just staring at him now, completely lost in thought. And after at least half a minute or so, Max ended up turning back to face him completely, now faintly confused.

"Is there something else, camp man?"

"What?" David looked startled, like he'd been snapped out of some kind of trance. Max tilted his head, not knowing whether to be concerned or not at this point. David didn't usually zone out, after all. "Oh, no! Not at all, Max, you go take a shower and get dressed and come to the kitchen when you're done so you can have breakfast, okay? Okay!" And with that, David was gone, ducking back into the kitchen.

Max let out a slightly bewildered laugh, just low enough for himself to hear as he spun on his heel, shaking his head faintly in confusion. "Why do I always land in the nuthouses?" He whispered, walking into the bathroom. He cut the light on, silently shutting and locking the door behind him and setting the clothes down on the small desk in the bathroom. David was acting weirder than normal, but the kid easily brushed it off. It was probably just from yesterday. He was most likely still processing everything he'd learned, no big deal. The kid hummed faintly to himself and let out a soft sigh, turning the water on silently.

The shower was quick - As great as it felt and as much as Max would have just loved to stay under the water for a few minutes longer, he didn't like to waste it. So he took only the time he needed to wash himself off before getting out, drying off and putting on the clean clothes. He ran his fingers through his soaked hair, using the shirt he'd had on the day before to dry out most of the water, leaving it a slightly poofy mess - Or more of a poofy mess than it had been before. He discarded the dirty clothes in the same place as yesterday, putting the bandages back on before cutting the light off and leaving the bathroom. He felt a lot cleaner, which was a good thing. He liked feeling clean.

The boy hesitated in the hallway for a moment, uncertain now. After all, a lot of things had happened yesterday, faster than the eleven year old had known how to deal with. And he was able to escape it last night, but what about today? He had to deal with it sometime, didn't he? Ryan and Alex would be in jail, and Max would be taken out of Sarah and Ryan's custody. Where would he go, then? Foster care or something? Because he definitely didn't want to be placed with a fucking foster family, no. He didn't want to be placed into the system at all. What if he got placed with someone worse than- Okay, yeah, not possible. But still! What if something bad happened? Because so far, the bad things just kept coming. Well, Max guessed that Alex and Ryan finally getting the ass-kicking they deserved wasn't such a bad thing…

Maybe it was finally starting to look up for him? Maybe David had been right all along, maybe it was finally getting better. But that still begged the question, where the fuck would he be going after all this?

Max wasn't sure why, but the thought of leaving this place honestly terrified him. Besides Camp Campbell, this was the one place he actually felt safe at this point. And as much as it surprised him that he felt safe here, he wasn't really questioning it. Because he guessed it had something to do with David. It wasn't hard to know, that after last night, he trusted his Uncle. He never thought he would, and he probably would never admit it to anyone else, but David was the one adult he actually felt okay with. He didn't want to have to stay with anyone else.

...Wait, what?

Max paused, backtracking a little bit. He couldn't stay with David, could he? There was no way in hell his Uncle would actually want him. Sure, he and Sarah were staying with him now, but Max knew it couldn't be a permanent thing. He was a little fucking nightmare - David wouldn't even consider it. Max shook his head at himself, struggling against his own thoughts. He had to shut those hopes down instantly, before they just got crushed later. He'd be put into the system, get placed with a family that was either godawful or somewhat okay, and probably never see David or Camp Campbell ever again.

And as much as that thought hurt for reasons he couldn't quite place, he knew it was better than what would happen if he got to thinking maybe there was a chance in hell that David would even consider taking the kid, himself.

Max exhaled softly, taking another minute or so to get his thoughts straight before finally leaving the hallway and heading into the kitchen. David was at the stove, still cooking, and Gwen sat at the table. Max honestly had to do a double take, blinking slightly in confusion. The woman did the same, looking up briefly, then looking back down at the table, only for her gaze to snap back to the kid instantly, purple eyes flying wide. Which honestly surprised Max even more, not expecting that reaction.

"Oh, uh, Max," Gwen paused for a small second, staring at the kid through wide eyes. Max just blinked back at her silently for a few moments. "Good morning,"

"Uh huh," Max stared at her for a moment longer before shaking his head and walking over to the counter. But before he could reach up to grab a cup, there was one already in front of him. Max had to cross his eyes to focus on it, taking a second to realize what it was before quickly taking it.

"There you go, kiddo," David smiled, ruffling Max's hair. The eleven year old just groaned and pulled away, swatting his hand away with a scowl. "Did you sleep well?" David chirped, wiping his hand off on a small rag before heading back over to the stove to continue cooking.

"I slept." Max responded absently, reaching a hand into the cup to poke the coffee, testing how warm it was. A satisfied hum left his lips as soon as he came into contact with the steaming liquid, not hesitating to lift the cup to his lips and start chugging, gulping the burning coffee down. He'd probably scorched off some of his taste buds in the process, but to be honest, the kid didn't really care. He was honestly convinced that the way it burned his throat was more of a wake-up call than the caffeine.

"Be careful," Gwen chided as Max paused to set the cup on the table, climbing up into one of the chairs. "You'll burn your tongue off that way."

"If I haven't yet, it's probably not gonna happen," Max retorted, rolling his eyes and passing his tongue over his lips. She had a point, now his mouth burned like a motherfucker, but he'd been through worse pain, so he couldn't really bring himself to care. "What's it to you anyways? You chug coffee just as fast. If not faster." He flicked his wrist toward Gwen, gesturing to the cup of coffee sitting in front of the woman.

"I'm an adult," Gwen replied defensively, crossing her arms over the table and squinting at Max as she leaned forward. "You're not even supposed to be drinking coffee. You're eleven. This shit's bad for you. It rots your insides."

Max wiggled his eyebrows at her, honestly a little confused by the lecture. Gwen was the last person he'd expect to lecture him about drinking coffee. Even David hadn't said a word about it, and that was saying something. Seriously, what was up with them this morning? First David's acting weirder than usual, and now Gwen's lecturing him about his coffee-drinking habits? "Again, what's it to you?"

Gwen raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off by David, who turned back to the two. "Alright now, no fighting, you two," he chided. Max let his gaze flicker to him briefly, then shrugged faintly and picked the coffee back up, taking a few more sips. Since it wasn't as filled as he liked when he made it, he was easily able to finish off half of it before telling himself to slow down a bit. "Okay, uh, Max, me and Gwen, we have something to tell you."

"'Kay," Max coughed, rubbing the back of his hand over his mouth and setting the cup back down on the table, looking up expectantly. David paused, eyes darting down to Gwen, who simply stared back in silence for a few moments before David spoke again.

"Well, that can wait until after breakfast," David decided, putting his hands down on the table and leaning forward to grin at Max. "But on another note, Jasper called this morning, and guess what?"

"The two asshats are finally in jail?" Max asked blankly, clicking his fingers against the coffee cup. Admittedly, he was a bit curious as to what else David had to tell him, but he decided against questioning it. After breakfast, whatever.

"The two a- Uh, yes," David cut himself off quickly, and Max let out a small snicker despite himself, a grin appearing on his face. Damn, and he'd almost slipped up, too. It was kind of amusing when David cussed. Well, granted, the first time hadn't been exactly amusing, when David had outright said "fucking", but otherwise, yeah. And it was only amusing because it was such a.. Not David thing to do. "Yes, Ryan and Alex are in jail."

"Where they belong, fucking assholes, thank god…" Gwen growled, leaning forward and crossing her arms over the table, silently lowering her head to rest her chin in her hands with a sigh. Max hummed briefly in agreement, his grin wavering slightly. As thrilled as he was to hear the news, and believe me, he was fucking thrilled, it also brought up that one nagging fucking question again. Where was he going to go now?

"Great. So, am I being put into the foster system, or…" Max looked down for a moment, tilting his cup back and forth a little and watching the coffee swirl around. His tone was as neutral as he could force it to be, keeping his expression as emotionless as possible. He didn't want to show any more weakness than he already fucking had.

"Well, that's actually what we're going to talk about after breakfast," David replied simply, reaching across the table to ruffle Max's hair once more. The kid jerked his head back instinctively, shooting David a glare as he sat back to fix the curly mess quickly. One of these days he was either going to bend David's finger so far back until it cracked, or straight up punch him in the gut. And it wasn't even because he didn't like being touched at this point, it was because David kept messing up his hair and he fucking hated it with all he had.

"Right, okay." Max grumbled, running his fingers through his hair as he leaned back in the chair, giving David an annoyed glance as the man turned back to the food. Max sighed, watching him for a few moments before turning his gaze back to the table. Great, so they were going to talk about where Max was going to go. He didn't really care. If they were going to put him into the system, there wasn't anything he could do about it, was there? He was just an eleven year old, he didn't have much of a say. Then again, he was kind of curious as to David wanted to talk about regarding that particular issue… But he still didn't want to get his hopes up about anything, no. He didn't want to be hoping at all. Things were so much simpler when he could actually hate the guy. Now he trusted him. Now he felt safe around him. And now it was going to hurt a lot when he was ripped away.

It wasn't long until a plate was sat down in front of him, causing the boy to sit back once more and stare down at the food. Eggs and bacon, which he'd… Honestly never had. It both looked and smelled good, much to the kid's inner delight, because if he was being completely honest he was pretty hungry. And getting used to eating a lot more than he had been originally. Which he didn't really mind anymore, honestly. Hopefully, wherever he was going next, he'd still be able to eat. The kid scoffed at the thought, picking up a piece of the bacon and turning it over in his fingers curiously as David set down another plate in front of Gwen before sitting down with his own food.

"Looks weird," Max muttered, waving the piece of bacon in the air briefly before taking a small bite. It wasn't too bad. Kind of salty, honestly, but salt ran through his veins. He didn't mind. The kid hummed briefly, nibbling on the bacon now as he leaned forward a bit. "Tastes weird, too."

"Y'like it?" David grinned at him, scooping up a forkful of eggs and shoveling them into his mouth. Max quirked an eyebrow at him briefly before simply shrugging, finishing off the piece of bacon in his hand before turning his attention to the eggs. He still had a few more pieces of bacon left, and honestly it was delicious, but he was curious as to what the eggs tasted like. So he grabbed his own fork, doing what David had and scooping the eggs up and taking a bite. It was almost as good as the bacon. Not as salty, though. Max liked salt.

"It's better than the shit at camp, eh?" Gwen snickered slightly as she ate her own food. Max smirked a bit despite himself, rolling his eyes at the woman as he continued to eat. The camp food wasn't so bad, as much as he criticized it. He didn't really mind it all too much, at least. It was food. Disgusting food was better than no food. Good food was just a bonus. The kid fell silent as Gwen and David got into a small argument about the camp food, zoning them out easily and choosing to munch on another piece of bacon.

He finished relatively quickly, but not as quick as David or Gwen, who had both cleaned their plates before Max had even gotten to the last piece of bacon. He instinctively reached out to put the plates in the sink, but David stopped him before he could, sticking his tongue out at the kid as he cleared the plates off of the table. Max squinted slightly at the action, mostly kind of confused by it, but he didn't say anything, sliding out of his chair and finishing off the rest of his coffee with a huff. Whatever, David could do what he liked - Max didn't mind doing the chores, he was used to it by now, but if camp man wanted to pass up the opportunity for having his own cleaner around the house, that was his own business. "Don't you guys have to work or some shit?"

"I don't work Mondays." Gwen replied, standing up as well and stretching. Max blinked at the reminder that it was Monday - He was supposed to be in school, wasn't he? And then he remembered that Sarah had apparently called to tell them he'd be out for a week. Which just meant he'd have more to catch up on when he went back. Alright, not that big of a deal. Max honestly did pretty well in school. Which was amusing - Amusing because most people were shocked when they found out, expecting the snarky little eleven year old to be the one with the horrible grades. Nope, Max pretty much aced all his classes, and he tried like all hell to do it, too. Why?

Pure. Fucking. Spite. His parents never gave a shit what he did in school - At least, Ryan didn't, and Sarah had never really had much of a say in Max's life anyway, but everyone else expected the trouble maker to be some dumbass who could hardly spell his own name. So he bit back full force, became pretty much the smartest kid in that fucking hellhole, and plowed all their fucking expectations down. The kid shook his head a bit and turned to David, quirking an eyebrow silently at the man as he waited for his response.

"I took off today," David paused, turning the water off and turning to face him. That's when silence fell over the three of them. Pure silence. The kind of silence that shadowed over when a huge fucking bomb was about to be dropped, and Max didn't think he liked it at all. The eleven year old narrowed his eyes slightly, setting the coffee cup back down on the table and eyeing the chair, honestly wondering if he should be sitting down for this, because David was completely fucking silent right then and that's when you know something's up. When overexcited camp man who can never seem to shut his fucking mouth is quiet.

"Oooooookay," Max eventually sucked in a sharp breath, deciding that he had to be the one to break the silence, because nobody else was fucking talking. "Kinda making me a little nervous here, guys."

"Sorry, sorry, right, okay," David cleared his throat, putting his hands behind him and leaning back against the sink, biting down on his lip. Max let his gaze flicker from him to Gwen, who seemed just as nervous now, twisting her hands against each other silently. Max honestly didn't like how this conversation was going, at all. "Okay. Well- You see, Jasper found- Found something in your house, and-"

"You were adopted, Max."

Max had honestly been about to snap at David to get to the point, but froze with his mouth open when Gwen spoke. His head whirled toward her in surprise, snapping his mouth shut with an audible click, shocked. Honestly, not much really fazed him about that besides how bluntly it was said, and how completely unexpected it was. So, Sarah and Ryan weren't really his parents. Meaning Alex and David weren't really his Uncles. So… What? "Oh." He mumbled, furrowing his eyebrows and shaking his head a little. "And that's… Relevant, because…?"

"Favorable reaction, okay," Gwen sighed, rubbing her hand over her forehead before turning to David, squinting slightly at the man. "Can you handle the next part or not, you stuttering mess?" She demanded. Max turned his head to focus on David, now honestly helplessly confused by this entire situation.

"Uh, okay," David quickly turned back to Max, his eyes flickering uncertainly as he looked down at the eleven year old, who raised his eyebrows expectantly. "See, Max, when me and Gwen were, uh, together, we may or may not have, uh, had a kid?" Max blinked once, his arms falling to his sides as he stared at David, shock rushing through him and making the kid freeze completely. "And I think- No, we know, it's just, well, y'see, it's-"

"Max, we're pretty damn sure you're our kid."

Max's gaze froze on David, not even turning to look at Gwen this time. The shock increased tenfold, and confusion, yeah, there was a lot of fucking confusion there. The kid snapped his mouth shut again, dropping his gaze to the floor and furrowing his eyebrows together. How was he even supposed to respond to that? Gwen and David had a kid? Because first of all, he could honestly not imagine the- The fucking twink having sex, much less having a fucking kid. And not only that, but Max was that kid? What proof did they have of that, exactly? Did they even know for sure? Was "pretty damn sure" even reliable?

Gwen continued, her tone becoming a little more certain as she went on. "See, Jasper apparently found the adoption paperwork at your house and contacted a social worker, a friend of his, and got her to send him the rest of the files they had on you, and if written, signed documents are anything to go by, well, we're your… Biological parents? I mean, we can get some kind of test done if you want to be completely sure, but, yeah."

"Oh my god." Max exhaled slowly, squeezing his eyes shut about as tight as he could right then. He still had absolutely no idea how to react to that, how to respond. How was he supposed to react to all this information? Learning that he was adopted was enough - Learning that David and Gwen had a fucking child was enough, for fuck's sake, but learning that he was seriously most likely that child? That was a lot for an eleven year old to take in. Especially right then.

How the fuck was his life just spiraling like this? How was everything changing so fucking fast? Honestly, the kid didn't know what he was feeling right then. Sure, he was a little bit overwhelmed with the overload of info, but he wasn't as disappointed or angry to find that out as he would have been about a year or so ago. And he wasn't anywhere near as terrified as he should have been. David and Gwen were his parents. His parents. David was his father. And Gwen was his mother and they were his parents. They were his parents, the only two adults that probably even gave half a shit about him, they were...

No, Max wasn't fucking disappointed, he wasn't fucking angry, he wasn't fucking terrified. No, he was… Relieved. Okay, well he was slightly terrified, but mostly relieved.

"Oh my god."

"I can't tell whether you're disappointed or happy," David's voice was closer than it had been before; Max cracked his eyes open to see the man had walked forward to kneel down in front of him. Max just stared at him in complete disbelief for a few moments, not knowing what to say. So what did this mean, exactly? He was their kid, what were they going to do now? Max fell silent, thinking about that as his gaze trailed away for a moment, only for his attention to move back to David when the man spoke up again. "For the record, if I had had any idea what was going to happen when I handed you over to that social worker, they would have literally had to pry you from my cold, dead hands."

The words were spoken so softly and deadly serious that, despite himself, Max laughed, shaking his head a little and pressing his face into his hands. He wanted to say something, he really, truly did, but he didn't know what to say. It was probably the first time in his life the kid was completely, one-hundred percent speechless, left without even much of a thought. And he felt like if he opened his mouth right then he'd just let out another quiet "oh my god".

"Laughing… Happy sound, are you happy or was that sarcastic because I honestly can't tell," David chuckled playfully. Max felt his fingers wrap loosely around his wrists, gently tugging his hands down away from his face so the kid could look at him. Max just gazed at him in silence, still not knowing what to say at all. "Come on, give me some response, at least." David smiled softly. "I know this is a lot to take in, but there's a reason we're telling you all this. Because you need somewhere to stay, and I don't know about you, but I don't think the fostering system is a good fit for such a sweet little kid."

Max blinked once, opening his mouth slightly before just snapping it shut again, half-realizing where David was going with this but still not wanting to get his hopes up about it at all. He held his breath, eyes widening slightly.

"But," David smiled a bit, tilting his head at Max, who's eyes widened even more. "Well, I mean, given that we're your biological parents, we could legally reclaim custody of you. At least, only if you want us to. Nobody's pushing anything on you, and it's okay if you need a little time to think about it, or if you don't want us to take custody, but it's just a su-"

"David fucking shut up," Max finally managed to cut him off, his voice shaking slightly. David blinked, looking a little startled, but thankfully he did shut up. Max took a deep breath, trying to control himself a little bit so he didn't start crying right then and there, because he hadn't outright started sobbing in front of David yet and he didn't plan to do so, like, ever. "Oh my god, okay, I just- This isn't some fucking prank or something?"

"No, Max," David chuckled a bit; The kid relaxed slightly, too shocked at this point to really completely question anything right then.. "It's not a prank. We're completely, one-hundred percent serious. All we need to know is if this is something you'll want, because if you do, we can talk to Jasper about getting some paperwork signed today t-"

"Yes,"

David blinked at him, seeming to perk up. Max could pretty much see his forest green eyes brighten, almost sparkling with pure fucking stars at this point. "Yes?"

"Yes," Max stressed, shaking his head desperately. He took a deep breath, trying to think a little clearly now. He was honestly half convinced that he was dreaming or something and he was going to wake up at any fucking second completely disappointed or whatever, but this all felt much too real to be a dream. And honestly he was still wrapping his head around all of this. The fact that David and Gwen were… His parents. He did understand one thing; David was pretty much offering to adopt him- Or, rather, take back custody of him? Whatever. The point was, this meant David… Was willing to…

Max was pulled into a hug before he could react, a soft squeak escaping him as David's arms wrapped around him tightly. The kid winced, shifting into a slightly more comfortable position but not moving to pull away, that familiar, safe feeling rushing over him. "Oh thank god, thank god, thank god," David whispered, burying his face into Max's shoulder. The eleven year old blinked, listening as he continued, "oh Max I'm so happy right now I finally get a chance to show you how wonderful life can be and you can finally be happy and oh my god thank god!"

"You're so fucking emotional," Max mumbled, burying his face into David's shoulder and taking a deep, shaky breath, letting it out slowly. Honestly, he was just as close to tears as David was at that moment, still hardly daring to believe what was even happening at this point. Hardly daring to let himself get his hopes up. He jumped when another pair of arms wrapped around him, looking up to see Gwen kneeling down beside them. The kid didn't say anything, moving a little bit so he could comfortably lean into both of them. "Is this really happening?" the eleven year old whispered.

"I think so," David chuckled, giving Max a tight squeeze and a warm, soft smile. Max tried to return it, but it came out pretty shaky, still kind of shook from the whole situation. He blinked, feeling something wet on his face, and David seemed to notice at the same time because he reached out quickly, brushing his thumb over Max's cheek. "Hey, don't cry, kiddo. It's gonna be okay, y'know? Just think, soon you won't have anything else to worry about. It'll just be you, me and Gwen." He rested his head against Max's, giving him a grin. "You can have a good life."

"That's why I'm crying, dumbass," Max retorted, choking out a small laugh despite himself. Whatever guards he had built up around himself had, surprisingly, completely just crumbled down around him. It left him confused and kind of lost, but he'd never been happier than he was at that moment, honestly. "...Does this mean I should call you guys "Dad" and "Mom" now?"

"You can call us whatever you want," David replied warmly, and Gwen hummed softly in agreement, squeezing the kid one last time before pulling back, sitting back with a smile. Max glanced at her for a second, returning the smile genuinely momentarily before tilting his head back, turning his gaze to the ceiling with a soft sigh. He wished it was all easier to process; He could pretty much feel his head whirling at this point.

"Speaking of Mom," Max blinked, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand and turning back to the two, who tilted their heads simultaneously, making Max snort slightly as he continued, "does she have any idea, or…"

"I told her everything last night," David assured him, reaching out to brush the kid's curly hair from his face. Max didn't say anything else, leaning forward into the touch and resisting the urge to just launch himself forward and start cuddling him again, wanting that warm, safe feeling to return. "She just wants what's best for you, kiddo. And she likes the idea of us taking custody," he smirked. "She'll still get to see you, after all."

"Yeah," Max let out a small laugh, shaking his head a little bit and letting out a soft sigh as his head fell back again. "How soon can this happen?"

"It usually takes around a week for everything to be finalized," David hummed. "But being friends with a cop has its privileges. He says if we can get the papers signed today, he can get things settled for us in two days, tops." He smirked a little as Max turned back to him, eyebrows raising faintly in surprise. "And since as of right now, you're still legally in Sarah's custody, those two days shouldn't be that bad because you'll still be right here with us. So," He held his arms out, and Max tilted his head slightly before moving forward, allowing David to pull him into a hug without hesitation. "I was thinking we can go get those papers signed, get that out of the way, go get ice cream, and come back here and just watch Spongebob for the rest of the day. Just the three of us." He rested his head on top of Max's as the kid grinned, tucking his head under David's chin. "Whattya think, kid?"

"I think…" Max sighed, burying his face into David's shirt silently for a moment, considering. That safe feeling returned, the warm, safe, happy feeling that he was honestly just soaking up at this point, loving every goddamn second of it. "I think… I want chocolate ice cream." He murmured, smiling a little bit as David laughed. The kid was unable to help a few chuckles himself, burying his face into David's shoulder and letting out a soft, content sigh.

He hadn't been sure at first, but he was almost certain now that he liked the turn his life was starting to take.

"Chocolate ice cream sounds great, kiddo."


	8. That's Alright, Let It Out, Talk To Me.

"I just realized you two fucked at fourteen."

Max blinked once, leaning forward as much as the seat belt would allow and trying to peer up to look through the windshield. Unfortunately for him, he was far, far too short to do so. Mentally cursing his height impairment, the kid sat back with a huff and threw his head back against the back of the seat. Honestly, he wasn't really surprised by that particular fact. Although, it was kind of shocking that David had even had sex with anyone at all, but Max decided he preferred not to think about his… Father's… Love life? Thinking of David as his father - Which, well, he was - For some reason, brought that weird, happy feeling back. And honestly, he loved it. The eleven year old smiled slightly to himself and turned his head to look out the window.

"Max, language," David scolded, making the kid snicker. "And that's- That's really not something you should be worrying about at all," he added, clearing his throat. Max spared him a glance, laughing a little bit when he saw David's face was completely red.

"Thaaaaaaat's true," Max agreed, turning his head to look out the window again. As fun as it was to tease David, he decided to fall silent at that moment, still trying to process everything. He was still honestly convinced that this was a dream - That he'd wake up at any second. But he wasn't waking up, was he? This was actually happening? It was still hard to believe - David and Gwen, of all people, were his parents, his biological parents. What a coincidence, right? And Max probably never would have known it, if it hadn't been for Ryan shipping him off for camp when he was six.

He knew one thing, he was glad that all his attempts to escape Camp Campbell had failed before. He never thought he could be, but he was, he was so fucking glad. The boy smiled slightly despite his efforts to fight it, looking down at Mr. Honeynuts for a second. He'd quickly retrieved the bear before he'd left, deciding he'd been away from the damn thing long enough. He could still remember the day David gave it to him all those years ago, too - The memory made his smile widen, sighing gently as he sat back and turned his head to look back out the window.

It wasn't long, luckily, until they pulled up to the police station; It didn't take long for Max to get out of the car, stretching slightly with a yawn and lightly tossing Mr. Honeynuts back in through the window. He let out a small yelp when he was scooped up, not by David this time, but by Gwen, who snickered slightly, lightly booping the eleven year old's nose. "So who's last name are you takin' here?"

Max cocked his head to the side a bit, twisting slightly in her grip to get into a more comfortable position as he sank down into her arms. That was a fairly good question, honestly; The kid thought about it for a moment, tilting his head back to look up at the sky as the three of them headed for the station. "Hm. What's your last name, Gwen?"

"Puri."

"Maxwell Puri…" Max squinted slightly, thinking about that for a second. "Or Maxwell Pearce. Shit, they both fit." He mumbled, bewildered now as he shook his head from side to side, eyebrows pinching together for a moment. He glanced at David when the man chuckled, quirking an eyebrow at him silently. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing," David sighed with a grin, reaching out and lightly ruffling Max's hair. The kid whined in protest and pulled back a little, sticking his tongue out at David with a playful scowl as he reached up to fix his hair. "Hey, why not both, though? Maxwell Puri-Pearce." Max blinked, turning back to David as the man's head tilted faintly to the side, considering for a moment. Honestly, though, Max wasn't focusing on last names anymore, he was more focused on the fact that David had just called him "Maxwell". The kid fucking hated being called Maxwell, and anyone who wasn't Kyle, Ryan, Alex or Sarah who called him that would have immediately been punched in the face, but for some odd reason he didn't mind David calling him that all that much.

"I think that's pretty fitting," Gwen poked Max on the side of his head, the eleven year old hissing slightly and batting her hand away. "Whattya think, Satan?"

"My mother calls me Satan," Max muttered, rolling his eyes slightly. "Puri-Pearce works. I like that." He admitted, chuckling a bit to himself now when he heard David squeal. He studied Gwen for a moment, not having missed the way her face had lit up when Max had spoken at first - It was kind of amusing, honestly. Gwen never really looked happy by anything before. As annoying as it would have been before, the kid kind of liked it.

"Well aren't you three just the perfect little family?"

Max snorted slightly and turned his head as Jasper walked up to them, the blonde grinning slightly at Max. The eleven year old simply raised a hand to flip him off, a smirk appearing on his face as David squeaked and quickly but gently grabbed his finger, lightly bending it back down with the others and giving the kid's hand a few pats, shaking his head slightly at Max. "Be nice, Max," he chided, ruffling Max's hair before turning back to Jasper. Max just snickered, flipping Jasper off once David turned his back and earning a light pluck on the forehead from Gwen, who was smirking a little herself now.

"Hey," Max laughed a bit, turning back to Gwen. "That's child abuse," he teased. Gwen rolled her eyes, poking his nose lightly and gently pushing the kid's head back a bit silently. Max just grinned and turned his head back toward Jasper and David, the former of which was now leading them into some back room. Max just sank back, letting his eyes drift around warily for a few moments. "So you took the pricks in already, huh? How pissed off was Ryan?"

"Extremely pissed off, but you don't worry about that, hm? You won't have to be dealing with those two ever again," Jasper assured, placing some papers down on a table. "Okay. Davey, Gwen, all this is is the paperwork to transfer custody from Sarah to you. She already stopped by and signed it," he tapped his finger against one of the papers; Max leaned forward a bit, easily recognizing his mother's signature and quirking an eyebrow. "So you two just need to sign and we'll get it all filed before you know it, 'kay?"

"I wanna sign stuff," Max mumbled, sticking his tongue out slightly and watching David pick up the pen instantly, signing without hesitation. The kid grinned slightly to himself as Gwen passed him over to the man so she could sign as well, David wrapping his arms around Max and giving him a tight squeeze.

"When you're older, kiddo," David laughed, resting his head on top of Max's with a grin. Max just snorted slightly before tucking his head under David's chin as he usually did, humming slightly in content and letting his eyes slip shut for a moment. Yeah, a kid could definitely get used to this. "Iiiiiii have a son," David hummed suddenly, letting out a small laugh. Max chuckled a little bit, himself, rolling his eyes.

"I think Campbell knew before we did," Max mumbled with a laugh. "Parents Day." He murmured, hearing David laugh a little bit at the memory, himself. Gwen just snorted, setting down the pen and turning back to the two with a grin.

"I guess your parents really were there for Parents Day, huh?" Gwen snickered, poking the kid in the side lightly. Max let out a small squeak, instantly moving to bat her hands away. Gwen quirked an eyebrow at him. "Ooh, is someone ticklish?" She teased, poking him again and getting the same reaction.

"No!" Max exclaimed, shifting slightly in David's arms to lean away from her. Gwen just laughed a little, moving a bit closer to poke him again, and Max whined slightly in protest, pushing her hands away once more. "Stooooooop," he complained, shooting David a look when the man started laughing. "Hey, you're more ticklish than I am, camp man, shut up,"

David raised his eyebrows slightly at him, then promptly reached out to poke the kid himself. Max squeaked again, honestly inwardly berating himself for making the stupid, childish sound as he twisted a bit, now trying to break free from David's grip. "Okay, okay, I cave!" He exclaimed, pushing Gwen's hands away as she went to poke him again, only to squeal slightly when David tickled him again, lightly poking his ribs. "No fair!" The kid exclaimed, now pushing his hands away.

"All's fair in love and war," David laughed, but luckily, he stopped - Good thing, too, because Max was honestly close to punching him in the face. The kid sank back, sticking his tongue out at both him and Gwen before simply tucking his head back under his father's chin, closing his eyes with a sigh. Honestly, he wasn't all that annoyed - Kind of amused, honestly. "Alright, you wanna go get ice cream now?" David chuckled, ruffling Max's hair lightly as he started to walk again, calling a soft goodbye to Jasper. Max hummed slightly in agreement, his mint green eyes opening again and flickering up to look up at the man.

"Chocolate?"

"Chocolate."

"M'kay," Max sighed, resting his head back down with a smile. He hummed thoughtfully for a moment, falling silent briefly before suddenly chuckling. Yeah, he could definitely get used to this. Finally having a good life, finally getting parents that actually fucking gave a shit about him. Honestly, this was all that he'd wanted since he was six years old, and it was even better than he'd imagined it to be. He almost laughed - It was so easy to drop the fear he'd held. For David, at least. In all honesty, he wasn't sure if he'd ever actually been scared of Gwen. David was the one he'd been terrified of, at least after Damion, but now? Now all that fear was gone. And it was great. "I could get used to this," he sighed, burying his face into David's shoulder with a smile.

"Me too, kid," David chuckled, resting his head on Max's and giving him another soft squeeze. "Me, too."

* * *

 

"Iiiiiiiiiii'm home!"

Max shrugged his backpack off his shoulders, sticking his tongue out slightly as he let it drop to the floor, lightly pushing it back against the wall with his foot before kicking his shoes off. Last day of school, thank fucking god, summer was here. And the kid knew what that meant - Soon enough they'd be off to Camp Campbell. Honestly, the kid was wondering how he was going to tell everybody about what had gone down in the past few weeks. Everything had been finalized - David and Gwen now officially had custody over him. Sarah had moved back into the house that had originally been her and Ryan's - After filing for divorce, of course. She came over to visit regularly though, and often brought her new boyfriend (who Max repeatedly wanted to stab in the eye with a blunt pencil, even though he was a pretty nice guy, Max was still making sure he didn't try anything with Sarah).

Max had a… Pretty good life now, actually. He had no complaints. It was still taking him some time to get used to everything, and he still had absolutely no idea how to live this kind of life, but he was working on it. And he had David and Gwen to help out. Everything was finally looking up - and thank god. It was about fucking time, right?

"Hey kiddo!" David poked his head out of the kitchen, giving the kid a bright, goofy little grin. Max smirked a little to himself, shrugging out of his hoodie. It was too hot for that shit, and now that most of the scars and bruises had healed he didn't have to hide his arms with bandages and shit now. His mint green gaze raked over his arms for a moment, kind of amused because they were the cleanest they'd ever been. "How was school?"

"I kicked a kid in the crotch," Max replied innocently, dropping his hands to his sides and looking up. A grin appeared on his face as David's face dropped completely to both shock and horror, and the kid let out a few soft giggles - The sound still fucking surprised him, shaking his head. "Kidding, I'm kidding," he assured, watching David's face flush with pure relief. "Ah, that never gets old. School was good," he chirped, walking past him and heading into the kitchen. The eleven year old stretched up slightly on the tips of his toes to peer over the counter, squinting slightly at the plate of cookies that sat there. David was such a fucking mom it was amusing. "We literally did nothing interesting, though,"

"Well, it was your last day," David laughed, moving the plate closer to the edge of the counter so that Max could grab one. And the kid did, picking one off the plate and biting into it without hesitation, spinning back around to face his father with a smirk. "And you know what that means, don'tcha?"

"Camp?"

"Yep!" David cheered, suddenly scooping the kid up into his arms. David had a habit of doing that - It took the kid some time to get used to it, but by now it hardly fazed him. Max just laughed a bit, twisting slightly in his grip to sit back in a more comfortable position, sticking his tongue out at his father as he crunched into the cookie. "Eeee, I'm so excited! Camp Campbell is just the best place to be, isn't it?" He squeezed Max tightly, making the kid laugh again. "Oh! Have you decided what camp you wanted to sign up for?"

Max blinked, chuckling again. Oh, yes. Having parents that actually cared, and having a father that ran Camp Campbell, meant that he actually got to sign up for a specific camp this year 'round. Which wasn't an easy decision, honestly. The kid wasn't all too sure where he really fit in at that camp - He'd never had a specific one, he was just there. While usually he detested that, now he was considering just letting it stay the same. "Nah," he shook his head a little. "Still thinking. I think I'm just gonna go," he admitted with a shrug.

As expected, David let out a squeak and pulled away a bit, staring down at the kid in surprise. "Aw, no, Max, come on, you deserve to sign up for a camp you want!"

"But that's the problem, I don't know what camp I want," Max explained, rolling his eyes a bit and finishing off the rest of the cookie before twisting around in David's arms, reaching out to grab another. "Besides, I don't really need anything specific. I'm happy just going to Campbell." He admitted, studying the cookie for a moment before looking toward the fridge, wondering if they had any milk. Probably. Milk and chocolate chip cookies were the best.

"Well, if that's what you want, kiddo," David sighed, ruffling Max's hair before setting him back down, picking up the plate of cookies and moving it over to the table so Max could reach it easier. "Are you sure, Max? There's a lot to choose from - Endless possibilities! Heck, you could sign up for Camp Counselor In Training Camp!"

"That's a thing?" Max blinked, grabbing a cup and heading over to the fridge, lightly kicking it open and grabbing the carton of milk out. He twisted the cap off, turning back and setting the cup on the table so he could pour the milk into it without it spilling everywhere. "Wait, wait, wait, hold up, you're basically saying I could be a counselor in training or something?"

"Yeah! Like father, like son, right?"

"Hm." Max considered that for a moment. Counselor in training. Sure, when he was six, he had wanted to be a camp counselor just like David. Now, he honestly wasn't so sure. He did love Camp Campbell - While he would have hated to admit that even to himself before, he'd pretty much given up on denying shit like that to himself, it never helped and it always just hit him back full-force later on. Being a counselor at that camp wouldn't be too bad. Especially now that David ran the place himself. Hell, it could be fun. "Yeah, I'll give that a shot, then,"

He heard David squeak again, the eleven year old rolling his eyes with a small smile as he pulled the carton up and twisted the cap back on, turning and putting the milk back into the fridge and shutting it lightly with his foot before sliding the cup along the table as he walked back over to sit down. "Really?!"

"Why not?" Max chuckled, shrugging at David as he dipped one of the cookies into the cup, shaking some of the milk off so it didn't drip everywhere before taking a bite. "Could be fun, I guess."

This time he wasn't prepared as David scooped him up again, but it didn't stop the boy from laughing as his father squeezed him tightly in a hug. The kid just sighed, finishing off the cookie quickly and lightly pushing David's shoulder with one hand. David just squealed again, squeezing him one last time before pulling back a little, beaming at the kid. "Oh, Max, it's gonna be so fun!" He exclaimed. "You're absolutely going to love it!"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see," Max told him, rubbing some milk off of his lips with the back of his hand and rolling his eyes at David playfully. Honestly, the man got so excited sometimes. While it could be somewhat annoying, it was also kind of amusing at the same time, how childish David was able to act. "So when are we leaving, camp man?"

"Later! The kids are arriving tomorrow, so I was thinking we can go and get a head start and get everything set up for them!" David replied brightly, setting Max down and ruffling his hair. Max just hummed, gently moving his hand away and reaching one hand up to fix the curly mess, the other hand moving to grab another cookie and dipping it in the milk again. "You got everything packed, right?"

"Mhm," Max assured, taking a bite and swallowing before answering. "Pretty much. Gwen coming?" He asked, turning to face David and tilting his head at his father questioningly. David nodded, grinning, and Max gave a satisfied smirk as he finished off the rest of the cookie, brushing his hands off. He debated on grabbing another, but he already felt kind of full from what he'd eaten so far. The kid still didn't eat too much, but he ate a lot more than he had been before. It still felt kind of weird to eat, but that was just another thing they were working on. Honestly, they had… A lot to work on, but Max didn't mind it all too much.

"I wonder what Neil and Nikki would think about this," he mumbled thoughtfully, tilting his head. He had absolutely no idea how they would react - Or how any of the kids at camp would react. He did know one thing, though, he wasn't going to be as much of a little shit as he usually was. That said, he still had somewhat of a reputation to uphold, and he had to make sure Nurf knew his place, but otherwise? He wasn't going to be that bad this time around. And he couldn't wait to tell Nerris about all of this, too.

"Well, it won't be that long from now, kiddo. Just one more day and you'll get to see them all again," David chuckled, ruffling Max's hair again. This time Max didn't bother pushing him away, rolling his eyes and running his fingers through the messy black curls as he stuck his tongue out at David. His father just grinned and laughed, sticking his tongue out right back at the eleven year old. "For now, you better go make sure you've got everything packed up. Don't wanna leave Mr. Honeynuts behind, do ya?"

"Uh, no, that would be extremely bad," Max agreed, going against his better judgement and grabbing another cookie before spinning around and heading off to his room. "Better make sure you got everything too, Dad, you know how forgetful you are!" He paused briefly, a grin appearing on his face when he heard a sharp intake of breath from behind him, but he continued walking. He didn't call David "Dad" that often, honestly - But the reaction he got when he did made that all the more worth it. He didn't know it could be so satisfying to make David so happy, but it really was a treat, wasn't it?

The boy grinned, shutting the door behind him and leaning back against it for a moment, closing his eyes contentedly. Yeah, he had a pretty good life here. He most definitely wasn't going to complain.

* * *

 

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING CAMP CAMPBELL!"

Max rolled his eyes at David, turning his head slightly to stare out the window with a grin. It was probably the fifth time that his father had yelled that on the drive - Hopefully this would be the last time, since they'd just pulled in. A small smile appeared on his face, taking a moment to look around, taking in the familiarity of the camp as he opened the door and got out of the car, stretching slightly, pulling his arms over his head as he looked around. This. This was his safe place. And nope, he'd never admit it out loud to anybody, but it was the best place to be.

"Home sweet home," Max muttered to himself, turning to help David get the bags out as his father pulled the trunk open. The kid glanced over as another car pulled in- Gwen, who'd been driving not too far behind them. Max waved briefly to his mother as he grabbed one of the bags, pulling it out with a hum and letting it roll to the ground, pausing and bracing himself. It wasn't too long until he was pulled up into a hug, this time by Gwen, who squeezed him tightly before pretty much dropping him back to the ground.

"How's my favorite little shit?"

"First of all, rude," Max complained, pulling himself up and dusting himself off before sticking his tongue out at Gwen, who laughed. "How's my favorite bigger shit?" He teased back, earning a pluck on the forehead from Gwen before his mother turned back to help David, who was just laughing slightly now. Max watched them both with a grin before rolling his eyes and heading off to wander around, wanting to take in everything by himself. Memories came flooding back as he looked around the familiar camp, his grin widening slightly as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts. Briefly he wondered if Nerris would be upset that he wasn't wearing the blue hoodie she'd made him, but he did have an idea for something he'd have to tell her tomorrow.

Max hummed as he walked, quirking an eyebrow at the Quartermaster as he saw the old man leave the mess hall. For a moment, the kid paused and watched him approach, tilting his head a bit. "You're here early."

"Live here, cretin," the man grumbled, walking past him without even looking at the kid. Max snorted, turning his head slightly to watch him go before shrugging and heading into the mess hall, shrugging the door open and stepping inside. His gaze lit up as he looked around the familiar cabin, head tilting slightly. It was cleaner than he expected - He guessed the Quartermaster kept the place neat while everyone else was gone. Figured, honestly. The kid grinned, letting out a soft sigh before turning and heading out again, falling into step with David as his father went toward the counselor's cabin.

"So, since I'm a counselor in training, do I get to sleep in here or do I have to stick to a tent?" Max teased, glancing up. He moved forward a bit to open the door so David didn't have to set down the bags he was carrying, taking a look around and smiling slightly to himself.

"You can sleep in here. I'll set up a bed for you in one of the rooms in a little while." David told him, setting the bags down and looking around with a grin on his face, his green eyes sparkling warmly. "I've missed this place, haven't you?"

"Maybe a liiiiiittle," Max hummed, rocking back and forth on his feet. He ducked this time as David reached out to ruffle his hair, a laugh escaping him. "Yeah, yeah, I missed the camp, David." He told him, this time not able to duck away as David scooped him up into another hug. The kid just grinned, silently snuggling closer and tucking his head under David's chin like usual, a soft hum escaping the kid as he shut his eyes contentedly.

"I think this is going to be the best summer ever."

"It'd better fuckin' be,"

* * *

 

Max narrowed his eyes slightly as David helped him tie his old yellow Camp Campbell T-shirt around his neck the way David had it himself. It felt kind of weird at first, but he didn't say anything, looking down slightly and tugging on it a little as David finished tying up the back into a knot. He was wearing a camp counselor T-shirt just like David and Gwen had - Honestly it looked pretty fitting on the eleven year old, but he was still going to ask Nerris to make him something else. "You look like a little counselor," David giggled, kneeling down beside him and tugging the kid into a hug. "Are you excited?"

"Mm, kinda," Max hummed, laughing a little bit as he hugged his father back before pulling away, adjusting the shirt wrapped around his neck a little. "I just can't wait to see how everyone else reacts to this," he mused, leaning back against David a bit and looking ahead for a moment. He and David were waiting out front by the entrance to the camp to wait for the bus to get there with the other kids while Gwen and Jasper set everything up in the mess hall for when the kids got there - Max was more than just "kinda" excited. He probably matched David's excitement right then, honestly. This all kind of reminded him of when Neil and Nikki first came to camp - Except right then he was pretty much snuggled against David, wearing camp counselor get-up and not dreading the moment the bus pulled up at all.

It was funny how things changed, wasn't it?

"They're probably going to be pretty surprised," David laughed a little, moving one of Max's hands up to his head and moving his fingers a bit, making the eleven year old do the Camp Campbell salute. Max didn't really mind all that much, it was kind of amusing, to be honest. "Hey, Iiiii was wondering if you'd like to sing the camp song with me later. A father-son duet, huh?"

"I don't sing," Max tilted his head, letting his hand drop back to his side and crossing his arms as he leaned back. David sat back on the ground, crossing his legs and tugging the eleven year old down into his lap with a chuckle, wrapping his arms around Max silently. The kid gave a soft, content sigh, tucking his head under David's chin and keeping his gaze fixed ahead with a small smile. "Yeah, okay, fine," he eventually gave in. "I'll sing the song,"

"Eeeeeeeeee!" David giggled, squeezing the kid tightly. Max just snorted, letting out a soft laugh as he sank back against his father, grinning. There was no harm in it, after all, was there? Besides, "camp songs" was a requirement to be a counselor, apparently. The eleven year old smiled faintly to himself, moving his head a little to instead rest it back against David's shoulder, blowing his black curls out of his face briefly to look ahead again. "Thank you, Max,"

"Mmmhm," Max hummed softly in acknowledgement, resting his head sideways against David's for a few moments. The bus was taking forever to get there, but Max wasn't really complaining at all. It just meant he could sit here with his father for a little bit longer. The kid almost wanted to laugh with how affectionate he'd been recently compared to how he used to be, hating any kind of physical contact. But now? Now he was just completely fine with it. There was honestly probably nothing better than cuddling up against his father, letting that safe, warm feeling rush over him and relishing every second of it. And right then, he'd never felt safer. Because he was at his safe place - Camp Campbell, with David, the one person he really felt completely safe with.

Yep, Max wasn't complaining. He'd be fine if that bus never got there, if he and David could just sit like that for the rest of the day. The boy smiled slightly to himself, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh. The silenced stretched on for a while, another thing Max wasn't complaining about, but he did eventually break the silence. "So, should I move?"

"Why?" David pulled his head back a little to look down at him, sounding confused. Max just hummed, opening his eyes to glance up at him and offering a teasing little smile.

"Because the bus is about to get here, you're literally a bus magnet, and I don't feel like being run over today."

There was a moment of silence before David poked the kid in the ribs, earning a squeal from Max. Then David simply started to tickle the eleven year old, Max's squeals and squeaks of protest quickly dissolving into laughter, twisting a bit in his father's arms as he tried to break free. "Hahaha, aren't you just a funny little boy?" David teased, resting his chin against Max's shoulder as he continued to tickle the kid, who just squealed out a laugh, trying to push his hands away.

"Not fair, not fair!" The kid exclaimed between giggles, still trying to wriggle free. David's arms stayed firmly wrapped around him, a little cage that would have felt safe if it weren't for the fact that Max was honestly sure he was about to be tickled to death. At this point, he was laughing so hard he could feel tears pricking at his eyes, not stopping his attempts to push David's hands away. "C- Come on!"

Eventually David did stop, the man laughing a little himself as he rested his head against Max's, allowing the kid to catch his breath. Max let out a few more soft giggles, letting his head fall back against David's shoulder and sinking down into his father's arms, a warm smile on his face as his eyes slipped shut for a second. "If you ever do that again, David, I will murder you," he threatened, but he couldn't really put any real bite to the words, too amused, too… Happy. It was a strange feeling, one he was still getting used to, but one he was feeling more and more by the day. "I mean it,"

"We'll see," David replied warmly, giving the kid another soft squeeze. Max just grinned, curling up slightly and resting his head against his father's with a soft sigh. He giggled a little to himself as that safe feeling returned. David chuckled a bit himself, ruffling Max's hair briefly before wrapping his arms around the kid again. "I love you, kiddo."

Max stuck his tongue out slightly, considering that for a moment. It was something he heard often, but he didn't really say it back, mostly just responded with a smile and a hum of acknowledgement. Now he just turned his head slightly to glance up at his father before looking away again, the words leaving his lips before he'd even thought about them. "Love y'too, Dad," he murmured. He didn't have to look up to know David was beaming now, hearing a soft, muffled squeal from his father as David buried his face into the kid's shoulder.

"Yay,"

Max just laughed again. He did that often now too, didn't he? He'd probably laughed more just in the past week than he had in the eleven years he'd been alive, and that was definitely saying something, wasn't it? He was much happier than he had been for… Forever. And it was something he was still getting used to, but something he was welcoming a lot more than he had been before. The kid sighed, about to shut his eyes again, but he blinked them open when he heard the bus rolling up, a few sharp honks from the horn splitting through the air. Max raised his head a bit, but he didn't move to pull away from David just yet.

"That would be your friends, Max," David grinned, lightly nudging the eleven year old, who mirrored the smile effortlessly as the bus rolled to a stop, the doors swishing open. The kid was still reluctant to move, but David didn't really seem to mind, lifting one hand to wave and keeping his other arm wrapped firmly around Max. Max did the same, waving slightly as the kids filed off the bus. "Welcome back to Camp Campbell, kiddos!"

Max grinned slightly, laughing at most of the confused looks he got from the kids wondering why the fuck he was willingly cuddled against David right then, instead choosing to give Neil and Nikki a bright smile as they hopped off the bus. Both of them did a double take, exchanging surprised looks and blinking rapidly as if to ensure they were seeing right before turning back to Max. "Hey guys,"

"Why are you snuggling David?" Nikki asked curiously, pointing to the two of them. Max just snorted slightly and laughed a little, glancing over at David, who had had the same reaction. Eventually, Max did reluctantly pull away, standing up and brushing himself off. David stood as well, gently placing a hand on the kid's head and ruffling his hair slightly.

"Hm, I dunno," Max replied thoughtfully, batting David's hand away playfully and fixing his hair quickly before smirking at David. "Do you wanna answer that, Dad?" He didn't miss the soft squeal from David at that last word, but he turned back to Neil and Nikki just in time to register the shock on their faces.

"Dad?!" His friends exclaimed simultaneously, once more exchanging shocked looks. Max just laughed slightly at them. He was about to respond, but his gaze darted past them suddenly, resting on a familiar girl just as she hopped off the bus. Nerris looked just as pretty as ever, her brown curls bouncing against her face and her bright blue eyes sparkling happily as she pushed her glasses up a bit. She was still wearing her costume, adjusting her hat slightly with one hand as she looked around. Max smiled a little to himself, feeling his heart stutter and stop briefly as Nerris's gaze rested on him, blue eyes meeting green.

"I'll explain later," Max said quickly, moving past his friends and gently clapping both of them on the shoulder, his gaze trained on Nerris. "It's a long story. Gimme a second," with that he left their sides to head toward Nerris, who looked faintly surprised to see him. But that didn't stop a huge grin from appearing on her face, showing off her braces as he approached her. "Hey, Ner,"

"Hey, Max," Nerris beamed at him, her warm expression turning to one of surprise as Max simply pulled her into a hug. He didn't say anything for a moment, and she didn't hesitate to hug him back, the two staying like that for a moment before Max reluctantly pulled back. "You're affectionate today. What've you been up to?"

"Long story," Max said again, chuckling slightly and rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced toward David. "Like I said, I'll explain later," and he didn't plan on telling the story twice, so he was just going to tell it when he had Nerris, Nikki and Neil together. David could explain to the rest of the campers, if they were curious.

"Alright," Nerris chirped, looking him up and down for a moment. Max bit back a sigh. Here it comes. "You're not wearing your hoodie…. Wait, why are you dressed like that?" She asked suddenly, tugging on the yellow shirt wrapped around Max's neck like a little scarf. Max just chuckled and grinned a little, crossing his arms with a smile.

"I'm a counselor in training now." Max replied with a shrug, watching Nerris's face light up with both surprise and awe. "And about the hoodie, I was actually wondering if you could make me another one with this design," he looked down, tugging lightly on the camp counselor T-shirt he was wearing before looking back at Nerris, who was now studying the shirt curiously. "You think you can?"

"Pssshh, of course I can," Nerris replied cheerfully, giving him a bright little smile and rocking back and forth on her feet. Max chuckled a little, trying not to think about how adorable she seemed right then. "It'll probably take a month, at best, though," she giggled, bouncing past him. Max turned to watch her go, tilting his head slightly and giving a small smile to himself, shaking his head a bit. "See you around, Max!"

"See you, Ner," Max called after her, stuffing his hands into his pockets for a moment. He looked toward David for a moment, seeing his father was busy trying to get the other kids to settle down. Mostly Space Kid and Dolph, who seemed the most excited. Max grinned faintly, looking over in time to see Neil and Nikki approaching, both of them grinning like idiots now. "What's got you two so happy?"

"Funny, we could ask you the same thing," Neil snorted, bumping Max's shoulder with his own. "You totally owe us an explanation here, Max." He warned, giving the eleven year old the stink eye. Max just grinned back at him reassuringly, shrugging slightly and leaning back.

"Don't worry, you'll get an explanation eventually." Max hummed, throwing an arm around Neil's shoulders, and the other around Nikki's, bringing both of them in for a hug. Nikki didn't hesitate to throw her arms around him, probably squeezing tighter than David could, and Neil just rolled his eyes but returned the hug with a small smile. Max closed his eyes for a moment, the happy feeling returning, and this time he soaked it all up with a content grin. Yeah, this was definitely going to be the best summer ever. "I missed you guys,"

"Awwwweeee!" Nikki squeezed him again. Max winced a little bit, but laughed all the same, gently shrugging her off and letting his arms drop back down to his sides, shoving his hands into his pockets and giving them both a warm smile. "I missed you guys, too,"

"Same here," Neil replied, reaching out and lightly tugging on the camp counselor shirt Max was wearing, bringing Max's attention back to him quickly. "So why are you dressed like a miniature version of David?" Neil asked curiously, eyeing the shirt around Max's neck and giving his friend a confused but pointed look.

Max snorted at the choice of words, laughing slightly and resisting the urge to say like father, like son. Instead he just gave a small shrug. "Counselor in training," he replied simply, his grin widening a little as he watched Neil's confused expression turn to surprise. Max just laughed a bit, glancing back toward David for a moment.

"Wow, really?" Nikki squeaked, pretty much clinging to Max's arm at this point. Max normally would have brushed her off by now, but he didn't seem to mind the contact at this point, turning his head slightly to look at her and giving another shrug, smiling. "Does that mean you're the boss of us now or something?!"

"I've always been the boss, now it's just official," Max replied teasingly, lifting his free hand to lightly flick her on the forehead. He smirked slightly at Neil as the other boy snorted; Nikki just giggled slightly and released him, sticking her tongue out just as teasingly as Max shrugged. "Eh, I guess I am." He replied thoughtfully, suddenly giving a wide grin. "I run this fucking camp, bitches!"

"Uh, actually, I run the camp," David told him as he approached the three. Max gave him a cheeky grin in response, ducking his head a little as David reached out to ruffle his hair. But after a second Max raised his head again, allowing the contact and giving a small chuckle as David's hand rested on his head, gently messing up the bouncy black curls. "And, language, Max," David chided the eleven year old before smiling down at Nikki and Neil. "Are you two excited for the summer?"

"Yes!" Nikki pumped her fist into the air, making Neil jump. Max snickered a little bit at his friend, who socked him on the shoulder lightly, sticking his tongue out as Nikki continued. "I've been waiting all year to get back here and go bear hunting! When do we start?!"

"Later," David told her while Max rolled his eyes, shaking his head. He was glad to see Nikki hadn't changed, though. Still energetic and excitable as always. "For now, why don't you head after your fellow campers to the mess hall so you can get everything all set up and say hi to Gwen and Ja-"

"Whatever gets me out into the words faster! WHOO!" Nikki charged past him before David could finish his sentence, throwing herself to the ground and pretty much rolling the rest of the way to the mess hall. Max peered around David, his mint green eyes wide as he watched her go. Nope, Nikki definitely hadn't changed.

"Glad to see she's still crazy,"

"I think she's even crazier than she used to be," Neil groaned, trudging after Nikki a little less enthusiastically. Max grinned slightly to himself as he watched them go, tilting his head a little bit before leaning back again with a content sigh, tilting his head back slightly to look up at David with a smile.

"I think this is gonna be a good summer," David commented, ruffling Max's hair again. Max just chuckled, gently swatting his hand away and fixing the curls quickly. He gave a small hum of agreement, however. It was definitely going to be a good summer. The best one yet. "Y'think?" David asked with a grin, scooping Max up into his arms. Max let out a small yelp of surprise, wrapping his arms around David's neck on instinct to hold himself up, having not expected to be picked up that time. It didn't take him too long to recover, though, lightly sticking his tongue out at his father.

"Like I said before, David," Max gave his usually cocky-ass smirk and tilted his head at his father, sinking back into his arms and gently tucking his head under David's chin, humming slightly in content. "It'd better fucking be,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!!! <3


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